Fury of the Night
by Rosalie Barvik
Summary: When Kiora, daughter of Hiccup and Astrid, notices some strange behavior in her father's beloved dragon Toothless, she takes matters into her own hands. What does she find? Not only Yahata, Island of the Night Furies. But also a treacherous new villain who's just as ambitious to destroy the dragons as Kiora is to save them. **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

Kiora's hair whipped her face. Her breath was driven out of her chest. Adrenaline rushed through her. She was flying. Her dragon was speeding over the sea. Kiora knew she wasn't supposed to go this fast out of races. It was strictly forbidden, in fact. But she didn't care. She loved the thrill of Riding, the wind burning her face, tangling hair.

A horn sounded in the distance.

Kiora slowed her dragon, Icebreath. The horn meant all dragons and their Riders were called back to Berk for the evening. Her father, the chief Hiccup, always seemed to sound it right when she was having the most fun. Kiora longed to ignore it and keep flying all night. But she knew she would be grounded for a week if she did. So she turned Icebreath around. He responded to her direction, but only just.

Most dragons and Riders had an unbreakable bond. But Kiora and Icebreath had never formed that special bond. It was probably because Kiora refused to try. Icebreath was okay, but he wasn't _hers._ Not like Firestarter had been. Firestarter was Kiora's first dragon. He was her best friend. They loved and understood each other. But last year Firestarter had gotten sick. No matter what Kiora's grandmother Valka tried, he wouldn't get better. It broke Kiora's heart when Firestarter died. She hadn't Ridden for three months. Finally her parents forced her to start again. Kiora did _like_ Icebreath. But she didn't _love_ him.

Berk came slowly into sight. It also was alright. It was home. But Kiora longed to go somewhere else. She had only ever gone to the few closest islands. She wanted to go far. Kiora wanted to travel, to see the world, to have adventures, like her parents had. But Hiccup and Astrid both said she was too young. _Yeah, right_. She was fourteen. Hiccup had been fifteen when he met Toothless. Then he'd gone all over the country! Kiora didn't see why she couldn't.

Icebreath landed with a small bump. Kiora slid off and led him to her family's private stable. She put him in his stall and patted his snout. "Thanks, boy.''

Stormfly nudged her shoulder.

"Hey, big girl.'' Kiora stroked her between the eyes. Her mother's dragon was the biggest of the three in the stable, but had a sweet heart. She was always alert and protective. Stormfly was the first dragon Kiora had ever ridden. She moved on to the next stall and peered over the gate.

"Toothless? You okay?''

Hiccup's dragon was curled up in the hay on the floor. He didn't respond to her voice. Concerned, Kiora opened the latch, going inside. She sat down beside him. Toothless opened his big green luminescent eyes. They were dull and sad. Kiora knew he was getting old, but she had never seen him like this. Her heart clenched. Was something wrong with Hiccup? That was the only thing Kiora could think of. But if her dad was injured or something someone would have gotten her by now. Was Toothless just lonely? Hiccup spent several hours a day with him and he always had Stormfly's or Icebreath's company. So what _was_ wrong with him? Kiora thought hard. _If I was a dragon surrounded by other dragons and people how would I feel? Toothless isn't the only dragon._ . . Kiora shot to her feet. That was it! Toothless was the only Night Fury! After so many years away from the rest of his kind. . . no wonder he was down. He missed his family.

Kiora bolted out of the stable. She had to tell Hiccup! They could go look for the other Night Furies! They could find Toothless' family! They could— _Wait._ Kiora skidded to a halt. Why hadn't they found any Night Furies in the years of searching for new breeds? What if they were all dead? What if Toothless was the last of his kind? _We have to try._ Kiora took a deep breath. She had to bring this upon her parents gently. If she burst into the house and yelled at the top of her voice they would never consent.

When Kiora pushed the door open, Astrid was sitting by the fire sharpening a knife. Kiora thought it was pretty cool she had a mom that sharpened knives in front of the fire instead of knitting.

"Hey, honey,'' Astrid greeted her.

"Hi mom,'' Kiora said. "Where's Dad?''

"He isn't home yet.''

"Okay, well, as soon as he gets home I have something—"

"Go to your room and wash up for supper,'' Astrid interrupted.

Kiora bit her tongue. "Yes, ma'am.''

Kiora splashed water on her face. She dried it with a cloth, then stared at her reflection in the pool of clear water. Her face was wind-burned red. Her short blonde hair was tangled from Riding. She had pale blue eyes. She was tall and thin like her parents. Some people said she looked like her mother, but most said she looked like her grandmother, Valka. This made Kiora proud. She admired Valka more than anyone else in the world.

By the time Kiora was ready for supper, her family was already seated at the table. Hiccup, Astrid, and Valka waited patiently for Kiora to take her seat. Once she had, they said grace and started eating. Kiora ate the soup quickly. She then cleared her throat for attention. None was given. _Typical._

"Dad,'' she began, "have you noticed anything unusual about Toothless?''

Hiccup exchanged a surprised glance with Astrid. "Unusual? Not really. Why? Is something wrong?''

Kiora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her dad could be _very_ overprotective of his dragon. _Maybe this isn't a good idea. . ._

"Kiora?'' Astrid prompted.

 _Too late to back down now._ "When I was stalling Icebreath I noticed Toothless was looking a little down. Don't you think that's a little strange? He's usually so perky.''

Hiccup's brow furrowed in concern. "He has been rather melancholy. I thought he would get over it. . . Maybe I should go check on him.'' He started towards the door.

"I'll come with you,'' Valka offered.

Kiora's heart sank. This wasn't where she wanted things to go. "Wait!''

Her dad and grandmother stopped and turned back towards her. Astrid crossed her arms expectantly. Kiora tapped her thighs nervously. As much as she liked attention, she hated being put on the spot.

"Uh, so,'' she swallowed. This was her chance. "I was thinking Toothless is lonely. I know he always has plenty of company but maybe. . . maybe what he has isn't enough.'' Kiora waited for someone to stop her. But they all stared blankly at her. She continued with more confidence. "I think Toothless is homesick. He wants to be with other Night Furies. Berk is all very well, of course, but he wants to go _home._ Wherever that may be.''

No one said anything. Kiora stared at her lap. Finally, she looked up. "Well?''

"I've thought about the possibility before,'' Hiccup admitted. "But Toothless has always seemed happy here. He's the only Night Fury I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of dragons. If there are more then they are well hidden and far away. I don't see how we could find them.''

"But—'' Kiora insisted.

"Your father's right,'' said Astrid gently. "We are willing to do anything to insure the happiness and well-being of our dragons, but what you're asking is impossible. We have all thought for a long time Toothless is the last of his kind. Plus, traveling into unknown land would be dangerous. We just can't, Kiora.''

Kiora heart sank. She _wanted_ to go into unknown land! She _wanted_ adventure! And there _was_ something up with Toothless. "Then what _is_ wrong with him?''

Hiccup shrugged. "He might just be getting old.''

She had never thought of that. She didn't like the idea either.

"I'm sure he will be fine,'' Valka put in.

"But what if he isn't?'' Kiora burst out. "Listen, for once! We need to find the other Night Furies! There are more! We just have to go a little further. _Please!''_

"I already told you—'' Hiccup began.

"Do you even care?!'' She yelled.

"Of course! You know I do!"

"Then why aren't you doing anything? Just try. I could help. I could go with you—''

Hiccup crossed his arms. "So that's what this is about. You just want to go on some crazy adventure. I've told you countless times: wait until you're older. Just a year, or two—''

"Will you ever shut up and listen?'' Kiora demanded.

"I have been listening to you,'' said Hiccup flatly, "You haven't been listening to me. You never do.'' To Valka, "let's go.''

Kiora felt like crying. It wasn't fair! She watched Hiccup and Valka leave.

"Young lady.'' Astrid was fuming. "Go to your room.''

"But I didn't do anything!''

"Don't even. Just don't. Do as your told this instant.''

Kiora stormed to her room, slamming the door behind her. She collapsed on her bed. She was too angry to cry. All she could think about was how miserable her parents could be. Wallowing in her misery she zoned out for awhile. She must have fallen asleep because when she lifted her head it was dark outside. Kiora rolled onto her back. Toothless wanted to be with the other Night Furies, she just knew it! But no one would listen. . .

Kiora shot up in bed. She could do it! She could take Toothless to find more Night Furies! It would be risky. She would be in unknown land. Who knew what the weather and terrain would be like. Kiora's parents would be enraged. But if she was successful the future possibilities were endless! She had to do this. Not only would Toothless be happy, but she herself would finally be respected and understood.

Kiora waited until nightfall to make her move. Quietly, she slipped out of her house. She didn't bother leaving a note. Her family would figure it out. Berk was dark and silent. In all her fourteen years, Kiora had never seen it like this. It was waiting. It was waiting for her. She tiptoed into the stable. Stormfly and Icebreath were fast asleep. Toothless was lying on the ground of his stall, but his eyes were open. His ears pricked when the girl opened his stall door.

"Hey, Toothless,'' whispered Kiora, stroking his head. "I know what's wrong with you. I'm gonna help you. Come with me; we're going to find the Night Furies!''

At "Night Furies" the small black dragon alerted. He scrambled to his feet. Kiora shushed him quickly. He seemed to understand. Kiora led him out into the open night air. She climbed on his back. She had ridden him before. Not often, but she had. She warily place her foot in the strap that controlled his artificial tail. It was a stretch—her dad was taller than she—but it worked.

"Let's fly!'' Kiora murmured.

Toothless glanced at her house.

"It'll be fine,'' she insisted. The Night Fury was undoubtedly wondering why she was taking him instead of Hiccup. "This is your only chance to find your family.'' Her conscience pricked. Kiora hated manipulating him, but it was the only way. Toothless took a couple starting bounds and took flight. Kiora held on tight. She was going somewhere. She was actually going somewhere! The further away Berk got, the more confident she felt. _I'm going to find the Night Furies. I'm going to prove myself._

Behind her, Berk vanished.

 **I know in _How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World_ they find more Night Furies, so I can say this is based on that fact. This isn't what I think will happen in the movie - far from it. But I had fun writing this and hope you enjoy it! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The poster and some images are out for** **httyd 3! They are gorgeous. Girl Night Furies are actually called "Light Furies" and are white. Meh, I don't think I'm going to do that. I will probably keep them white though. Idk yet. The 1st official trailer comes out tomorrow!**

For the first three hours, Kiora felt good about her plan. Soaring below the clouds, breathing the cool, thin air. She was far from home. She was completely alone. She had to make her own decisions with no help. It was what she had always wanted. Kiora loved it.

Then the storm hit.

It came faster than Kiora would have ever anticipated. At first it was a slight chill in the breeze. Then the breeze turned into a violent wind. She fought to keep Toothless on course. Then came lightning. It split the sky in white streaks. Following it was thunder so loud it made Kiora's ears ring.

She gasped as lightning hit home only feet away from her and Toothless. She could feel its heat scorching her leggings _. That was too close._

"Come on, Toothless!'' Kiora yelled over the wind. "We have to get away from the lightning.'' She steered him down towards the water. But the waves climbed higher than usual. Sea sprayed soaked her. "Easy, bud.'' Kiora could feel Toothless tense underneath her. He was scared. He wasn't with Hiccup and Kiora doubted he had ever been in this kind of weather before.

Rain started coming down in sheets. Kiora could barely see two feet in front of her. Worse, the rain made the waves even more violent. She thought hard. _I must have learned this somewhere. In his survival class, Snoutlout said something about how to get away. . . Get above! That's it!_ Kiora had to go above the clouds. She bit her lip. How was she going to do that? The lighting was almost constantly crackling through every cloud in sight. The narrow window of time when it wasn't was not nearly enough to get completely clear. Kiora and Toothless would both be would have to wait until the lighting subsided.

Distracted with other problems, Kiora did not consider the danger of being off course. She had never set a particular course in the first place, but she had driven Toothless straight this entire time. Kiora had no sense of direction now. On top of that, the adrenaline of the first couple hours had worn off. She was exhausted. And thirsty. She'd packed food and water in Toothless' saddlebag but couldn't access them currently.

"We need to go now!'' Kiora shouted. Toothless groaned but pulled up. Kiora closed her eyes tightly. They were rising at almost a ninety-degree angle. _I want to go home._ Kiora's eyes flew open. Toothless was almost to the clouds. If lighting struck now they were screwed. Out of the corner of her eye, Kiora saw a vast dark shape in the distance. _Land?_ Toothless suddenly dove back down.

Lightning struck.

Colby scurried up the steep, slippery, moss ledge. The storm had finally calmed to a steady drizzle of rain. The first lights of dawn peaked up behind the island. On top the ledge was a single hut. Small and rounded it was not noticeable in the lush green forest. Colby paused to catch his breath then knocked twice on the door.

"Admittance granted,'' a husky, but not particularly deep voice.

Colby pushed the door open. Sitting on the floor, legs crossed, arms folded, was his boss. He'd never told Colby his real name. He went by Scarlip. He was tall, muscular. Long blonde hair fell to his shoulders. His eyes were unimaginably dark. His mouth was twisted. But he wasn't smiling. His lips were rough and bumpy with stitched scars. Scarlip, the man with the mangled mouth.

"Well?'' Scarlip asked softly. "What have you to tell me? Have your men found anything?''

Colby swallowed. "No, master—"

"Then why are you here?!'' Scarlip screamed in his face.

Colby cringed back. "Because, master, my men—they _have_ found something. Just not what you expected.''

Scarlip leaned forward. "Tell me.''

"The storm brought something to us. A girl. On the beach. She's unconscious but appears alive. We haven't investigated closely.''

"And why not?''

"It's too dangerous.'' Colby swallowed.

Scarlip's eyes narrowed to slits. " _What?''_

"Because, master, she has a Night Fury.''

Scarlip's position didn't change. But his mouth slowly screwed into a ghastly smile. "A Night Fury, eh?''

 **Please review**


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup jerked awake. He started to sit up, but layed back down. He closed his eyes, trying to relax, breathing heavily. Hiccup didn't know what had awakened him. But something felt wrong. He rolled onto his side so that he was facing Astrid. She was curled up next to him, sound asleep. She looked so beautiful and peaceful, Hiccup hated to wake her. Still, his gut told him something was amiss.

"Astrid,'' he whispered. "Astrid.'' He gently shook her.

"Yeah, babe?'' She asked groggily. Her eyes were still closed. She appeared only half-awake. Hiccup shook her again.

"Something is wrong.''

Astrid was immediately alert. "What? What happened? Are we under attack? Is it the dragons?''

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't know.''

Astrid bit her lip. "You sure something's wrong?''

"Positive.''

His wife thought for a moment. "Okay, then. Let's make the rounds. I'll check on Kiora.''

"I'll check on my mom.''

Hiccup and Astrid quickly parted.

Hiccup pushed open his mother's door. He quietly crept in. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Valka snuggled close to her dragon Cloudjumper. She stirred. "Hiccup?''

"Hey, mom,'' Hiccup whispered.

"What's wrong?'' Valka started to rise.

"Well,'' he began awkwardly, "I don't really know—"

"Hiccup!" Astrid burst in, her eyes wide with a panic Hiccup had never seen so prominently in her before. "Kiora's gone!''

Hiccup's heart plummeted. "Gone where?'' He asked dimly.

"How should I know?!" Astrid cried.

"Calm down, both of you.'' Valka was already readying Cloudjumper. "How do you know she didn't just wake up early and go riding?''

"She could have. . .'' Astrid seemed to relax a little.

But Hiccup wasn't so sure. He had a terrible feeling about this. He thought he knew what she did. And it sickened him. "Let's go to the stables. Hurry!''

The three of them rushed to the stables. The first pale lights of dawn were creeping above horizon. The air was cool and fresh as if a storm had raged overnight nearby. There were clouds in the distance threatening one for Berk that morning. Already it was misting.

The dragons inside the stable had awakened at the sound of footsteps approaching. Stormfly warbled a greeting to her Rider.

"Hey, girl.'' Astrid stroked her snout.

"Icebreath is here,'' Valka called.

But Hiccup hadn't heard her. He suddenly felt an icy chill, trembling.

"Is everything okay, babe?'' Astrid came over. Hiccup felt her stiffen beside him. She put a hand to her mouth.

"She did it,'' said Hiccup flatly.

Toothless was gone.

"Wait, hold on. So Toothless kidnapped Kiora?''

"No, stupid. Kiora kidnapped Toothless. Duh.'' Ruffnut rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Oh. How'd she do that?'' Tuff asked.

"Hiccup was explaining, but you interrupted him.''

"Oh. Makes sense. Sorry.''

Ruff rolled her eyes again.

"Would you two shut up and listen for once?" Fishlegs demanded. "This is _serious!_ ''

Hiccup had called the Trainers to the Great Hall for an emergency meeting. They were all sitting in a circle on the floor, except for Hiccup and Astrid.

"Why can't we just wait for her to come back?'' Snoutlout did not appreciate being awakened early. "She will have to come back eventually. Might take her some time though. You know, angsty teenagers and all. . .''

Hiccup rubbed temples. "You guys aren't helping.''

Astrid was pacing the room. "We need to find Kiora soon. The storm is moving towards us. If we don't go now, it won't be safe until tomorrow. By then it might be too late.''

"But we have no way of knowing which way she went!'' Fishlegs cried.

"Okay, hold up.'' Snoutlout stood up from his seat in the Great Hall. "Can we please go over the details one more time? Why exactly did Kiora run away with Toothless? Why didn't she just take her own dragon? Why didn't she tell anyone?''

Hiccup took a deep breath. "Alright. Here it is: Kiora left Berk, with Toothless, to go find more Night Furies.''

Four pairs of eyes blinked back at him. Astrid dropped her head into her hands. Hiccup groaned, throwing up his hands in frustration. "Okay, so you know how Toothless has been acting strangely recently?'' The Trainers nodded. Hiccup continued, "Kiora tried to convince me he was lonely and wanted to be with his own kind. She wanted to go on an expedition to find more Night Furies. When she was told no she left in the middle of the night—with Toothless—to find the Night Furies herself. Do you understand?''

"Kiora didn't ask for your permission or anything?'' Fishlegs asked.

"Obviously. I wouldn't of had to be awakened from my beauty sleep if she had asked because this would not be a problem and we would not have to be here!'' Snotlout snapped.

Fishlegs' face flushed slightly.

"But, like, there are no more Night Furies. We would have found them a long time ago,'' said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, did she not know that?'' Ruff added.

"She did. We all tried telling her, but she wouldn't listen—"

"Because we didn't listen to her.'' Astrid stopped her pacing. Her eyes widened as if she only realized how true it was when she said it. "We didn't. . . We never. . . listened. And now she's left us.''

Astrid dropped to the ground. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The other Trainers were silent. Astrid almost never cried. If she did she at least tried to hide it. But not this time.  
"

Hey, Astrid. It's. . .It's okay.'' Hiccup sat close to her. He put an arm around her shoulders. She buried her face in his chest. Hiccup shot a pleading glance at his friends. He didn't know what to do. This had all escalated so quickly.

"Valka can watch over Berk,'' Fishlegs suggested. "We can split up and try to find Kiora and Toothless.''

Astrid looked up hopefully.

Hiccup chewed his lip. "That could work. We have no way of knowing how far she went. She could still be flying—''

Astrid's face fell and her eyes started watering again. Hiccup had never seen her this upset before. It was actually kind of disturbing. They had to try something. For Astrid's sake. And Hiccup was worried about his dragon. He was confident Kiora could take care of herself, but could she also take care of Toothless? She barely knew how to fly him.

"Okay,'' Hiccup decided. "We'll do it.''

"I don't know what it is you plan to do,'' said Valka, entering the Great Hall. "But whatever it is you'll have to wait. The storm moved in while you were talking. And it's a nasty one. You will have to wait until tomorrow.''

"Gods, please let them be okay,'' Astrid murmured.

Hiccup had a bad feeling they were anything but okay.

 **The Hidden World trailer: amazing, right? The movie is** **officially being released March 1st! I cannot wait.**

 **Is this story any good? Favorite, follow, and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Kiora blinked through the blinding sunlight. _Oh gods. Where am I?_

She was lying on her back in the sand. The stormy sky from the night before had vanished into a clear, cloudless blue. The warm sun was beating down. Kiora pushed herself up to a sitting position. Every part of her screamed in pain. After a quick check, she was relieved to find she wasn't seriously injured, just bruised in a hundred different places. Shakily, Kiora rose to her feet.

Slowly, she turned in a circle taking in her surroundings. Kiora was on a beach. To her left was the ocean. Miles and miles of water, no land in that direction. To her right was the island. The beach she was on connected to a rocky bluff that spanned nearly thirty feet high. At the top Kiora could see greenery. It looked like a jungle or forest. She needed to get up there.

 _Oh gods, what have I done?_

Kiora kicked the sand in frustration. It wasn't fair! She was stranded on an uncharted island! She didn't even know where she was! All she had wanted to do was find the Night Furies. . . Night Furies! _Toothless!_

Kiora franticly looked around beach. Her heart lifted when she saw the small black dragon, then plummeted as she realized he wasn't moving. Kiora ran as fast as her bruised body would allow her. Toothless was curled motionless in a ball. She dropped down beside him.

"Toothless! Toothless, come on! Wake up! Oh gods—Dad's gonna kill me!'' Kiora felt tears rushing to her eyes and panic threatening to overwhelm her. "Toothless, _please.''_

The Night Fury twitched. Kiora gasped. Toothless lifted his head.

"Oh Toothless!'' Kiora flung her arms around his neck and sobbed. She never should have left Berk. How would she ever find her way back? She was hungry and desperately thirsty. She had no supplies, no navigational device. She was alone. Alone on a random Island with her dad's dragon.

Eventually, Kiora dried her tears. She took a deep breath. She had gotten them into this mess. She had to get them out of it. Kiora was going to stop crying, stay strong. She was smart and resourceful. She could do this.

Toothless stood up and shook himself. He wasn't seriously hurt, thank Odin. Then Kiora realized: his harness was gone. His artificial tail was ripped to shreds. She remembered how they were struck out of the sky—by lightning. The lightning hadn't harmed Toothless because he was a Night Fury. He was immune to it. And he must have saved her too.

Now they were stranded.

Kiora tried not to think about her parents. They were going to be _so_ pissed off. They would have discovered she was missing by now. Berk would probably be turned upside down looking for the Chief's daughter and dragon. Astrid would be worried. Valka would probably be trying to console her and suggesting possible solutions. As for Hiccup. . . Kiora admitted to herself he would probably be more concerned about Toothless. She shook off her guilty feelings. It was her parents fault she was out there. They never listened. She hoped they blamed themselves.

With Toothless close behind, Kiora started scaling the bluff. She walked some way in either direction, before concluding the terrain didn't get any more gradual. It appeared to circle the entire island. Climbing it wouldn't be easy, especially with Toothless.

Kiora gripped the highest rock she could reach. She pulled herself up, easily finding a foothold. She climbed about five feet before looking down at Toothless. He was staring up at her with his pale green eyes. Kiora shrugged."Come on, buddy! Use your claws and teeth.''

Toothless eventually managed to pull himself up with his teeth, hold on with his claws, and flap his wings to stay up. Kiora focused on the nearing green horizon. Fifteen feet to go. Halfway there.

The sun was now fully risen and beating down on them. Kiora's mouth was dry and her throat her from dehydration. She felt like passing out. But she gritted her teeth and gripped the rocks. Almost there.

Finally, drenched with sweat, her muscles shaking, Kiora pulled herself onto the ledge. Toothless dropped down beside her. She lay there, panting, until a gray clouds covered the bright sun and a light rain began to fall. Kiora tipped her head back trying to catch the raindrops on her tongue. Toothless did the same. They needed water soon. They also needed food, and shelter. . .

Thunder awakened Kiora. She had fallen asleep before she knew it was happening. She must have slept for hours because the sky was dimming. Beside her, Toothless was still sleeping. Kiora absentmindedly stroked his scale while she thought. _Thunder._ A storm was coming. She was soaked through and shivering. The rain from previously that day was puddled around her, dripping down the bluff. It would start again soon, and when it did, Kiora wanted to be in sheltered. She gazed into the forest. Did she really want to risk going in there? The trees themselves would provide some shelter. There would be a stream of some sort. She knew what plants were edible and maybe she could even catch a squirrel or something. It would be too wet to build a fire at the moment, but that didn't really matter. But Kiora doubted the forest's safety. The island was uncharted. Who knew what dwelled it? _Dragons_ came to mind. _Dangerous dragons._ Was it worth the risk? Kiora decided they did not have a choice. What else could they even do? They were grounded.

Toothless padded behind Kiora as they made there way into the forest. She was on guard. Unarmed, except Toothless' plasma blasts. She glanced back at the Night Fury. His head was down, eyes averted from her, but he still followed. Kiora wished she knew what he was thinking. Probably wishing he was with Hiccup instead of her. Kiora couldn't really blame him. She wished her dad was there. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do. And her mom would be able to find nourishment. Astrid could find shelter. Kiora found her anger at her parents ebbing away. This was not their fault. Running away was Kiora's idea. That's what she had done: she had run away. She hadn't been looking for Night Furies. She had used that as her excuse first to her parents and then to herself. But it wasn't true. She didn't really care about finding Toothless' family. She had only cared about her own selfish desire to have adventure and be respected. To be _listened to._ Now Kiora was paying for her mistakes. Alone with a disabled dragon in a strange place.

The rain started thrumming against the leaves.

Kiora felt tears slide down her face as she trudged on. Guilt, misery, self-pity. Was anyone looking for her? Did they even know she was missing? Were they worried? Or was she alone in the great big world? Kiora shivered. Her boots were weighed down by the rain. Her legs were giving out. She ached all over. She felt weak and feverish. A loose stone tripped her. She fell to her knees. Sitting back on her heels, more tears squeezed out of her eyes. _What am I doing?_

Kiora felt Toothless nudge her shoulder. She turned to see his luminescent green eyes gazing sadly at her. He cocked his head. Gently, he licked the tears off her face. Kiora sniffed, smiling at him. She took another moment to compose herself. Then, slowly, she rose to her feet. She touched Toothless' forehead to her own.

"Thank you,'' she whispered. "I promise I'll get us out of this.

"Promises are a dangerous thing.''

Kiora whirled around and found herself nose-to-nose with a person. She let out a strangled cry of surprise and stumbled backward. There was a boy standing in front of her. He couldn't have been more than a year older than her. He wasn't much taller than her, but he was lean and well-muscled. He had a thin face with defined cheekbones. Red, wavy hair fell to—but not past—his shoulders. Bright blue eyes bore into her. Kiora's first thought was: _Damn, he's gorgeous._ Her second:

"Who the hell are you?!"

The boy tossed his red head. "Who am I? Who are _you?''_

Kiora narrowed her eyes. "You first.''

"No way. It's my island. You're an unwanted guest. You first.''

Kiora bit her lip. There was something about how he said "unwanted" that didn't sit well with her. She eyed his fair features again. He was wearing a tunic that fell an inch above his knees. His feet were bare. A knife hung at his waist. Kiora figured it was best not to argue. "My name is Kiora.''

He nodded. "Kiora. Where you from, Kiora?''

Kiora lifted her chin. Now _that_ she refused to tell. "I told you my name. Now you tell me your's.''

"It's Beathan.''

She snorted. " _Beathan?_ What kind of name is that? It sounds like _heathen._ ''

Beathan was not amused. "I repeat my question: where are you from?''

Kiora brushed her wet hair out of her face. She was trembling. From exhaustion, cold, and fear. But she could never betray her home to a stranger. It would be a direct betrayal of her father.

"Okay. Fine. Don't tell me.'' He tapped his temple. "But do tell me this: where did you find a Night Fury?''

She stiffened. Kiora had been so distracted, she had forgotten all about Toothless. She was suddenly surprised he had not torn Beathan to pieces by now. Toothless was sniffing the strange boy with an odd expression. Beathan slowly approached the dragon. To Kiora's shock, Toothless didn't even flinch when Beathan lay his hand on the Night Fury's snout. _Just like Hiccup._ Then Toothless did something that surprised Kiora even more. He nuzzled Beathan affectionally. The boy smiled.

"Hey, Fury. Where've you been? I've never seen you before. What happened to your tail? Have you been alone all this time? Who's the blonde chick?''

"What're you talking about?'' Kiora breathed.

Beathan smirked. "Welcome, Kiora, to Yahata. The Island of the Night Furies!''

 **FF &R! **


	5. Chapter 5

"Hurry up, would you? We haven't got much longer until it starts getting dark.''

Kiora scrambled to her feet. She had slipped and fallen on the slick, wet moss again. Quickly brushing off her scraped palms, she blushed. Beathan cast an annoyed look in her direction. Toothless nudged her encouragingly. She scratched him behind the ear. For the last hour she had been following the strange boy. He claimed he was leading her to a safe place. Kiora didn't believe him, but she had no choice. She was parched and faint from hunger. She suspected Toothless was feeling the same. A gentle drizzle fell. The clouded sky was growing dark. The clouds themselves were a milky gray. The storm looked to be having a relapse. Kiora hurried after Beathan again. Beathan was a source of annoyance to her. He was extremely graceful and agile as he sprint though the forest. Kiora pouted. He may have been faster, but if she knew the terrain like he did Kiora was sure she could match his agility. But she didn't complain out loud. She followed Beathan silently, trying not to think about her parents. She wondered how long they knew she was missing now. She had been on Yahata for barely a day.

After what seemed like ages, Beathan slowed to a halt. Kiora bent-double, gasping. Beathan stared at her. Kiora couldn't read his expression, but at least he did not look annoyed. Toothless staggers slightly. Beathan frowned. "Your Night Fury isn't well.''

"Finally figured that out, did you?'' Kiora said hotly.

Beathan ignored her. He was focusing on the dragon. He circled Toothless, appearing deep in thought. Kiora did not like the look on his face. It was wonder, confusion, stress.

"What?'' She muttered.

Beathan kept his eyes on the dragon. "What's what?''

She shrugged. "Why are you looking at Toothless like that? What are you doing, Beathan?'' A strange tremor went through her as she used his name.

"You can call me Bea.''

Kiora waited for another answer. She got none. "All right then, _Bea._ What are we doing here? You have to at least tell me that. We are wasting time. This is stupid. We should be looking for food, water—''

Bea suddenly sprung towards her. His hand clamped over her mouth. His eyes narrowed. His lips formed two words: _trust me._ Then he suddenly shoved her into the rock wall covered with vines. Although it wasn't a wall. It was a cave. The opening was covered by a shroud of vines so it appeared hidden to the naked eye. A moment later, Bea joined her on the cold, hard floor, dragging Toothless behind him. The light was terrible, but Kiora was able to make-out him pressing a finger to his lips for silence. She didn't dare defy.

Footsteps sounded outside. Brown leather boots squelched into view. Low, hoarse voices.

"Did you see 'im?''

"Nay,'' a second voice rasped.

"I thought I saw young Beathan. Don't know where 'e is now though. But I thought I sawr another little imp. A gurl.''

"Don't be stupid,'' the second man retorted. "'Ow'd a gurl get 'ere?''

Kiora heard the other shrug. "Dunno. That's just wat I thought I sawr.''

"And wat about Beathan? 'E's dragon huntin like the rest of us. Scarlip would throw 'im off the cliff lest 'e do otherwise.''

The first man sighed. "Wha'ever. Let's go.''

The boots disappered.

After several long moments, Beathan rose to his feet. He offered Kiora his hand but she refused, pushing herself up. She dusted herself off and glared up at him in the dim light. He met her eyes cooly. Toothless snarled.

"In the name of the Allfather, _what are you playing at?''_

Bea shrugged as if two strangers had not just called him out for hunting dragons. And Toothless was a dragon.

"Well?" Kiora promted. She glanced around looking for an escape. She had to get Toothless out of there. Had Bea led them inro a trap? But, Kiora's rational side told her, if he led us into a trap than why did he hide us from the two strange men? She waited for his response.

He didn't say a word. Instead he grabbed a thick stick from the rocky floor. He held the end out to Tothless. Toothless blinked slowly at Bea. Kiora wanted to tell the dragon not to trust the boy. Whatever he was doing, it was most likely not good. But for some odd reason, Toothless seemed to do whst Bea wanted. He gently blew a small plasma blast onto the stick. It flickered for a minute, like blue fire, then settled into the wood. It was enoiugh to illuminate the cave. Kiora wondered how Bea had known to do that.

"You can trust me, Kiora,'' said Beathan. "Follow me. I will explain everything. But first—there's something you need to see.''

Kiora did not have a better choice. At least Bea knew where he was going. If he left her alone, she would be lost. She wouldn't know what to do. Staying close to the Night Fury, Kiora followed him. Deeper into the cave they went. No one said anything. The only sound was a faint _drip, drip, drip_ of water. Nothing eventful happened, and Kiora wondered agiain if she was being led into a trap. Then, after ten long minutes, Toothless suddenly stopped. His ears perked. His big green eyes widened. Bea had stopped too. Kiora heard footsteps. Unsure what to do, she automatically crept behind Bea.

"Don't be afraid,'' he whispered.

Out of the shadows, a single black foot appeared. But it wasn't human. It was a dragon. Into the soft blue light of plasma stepped a Night Fury. It looked almost exactly like Toothless. It was smallish, but stongly built. It had luminescent green eyes. Jet-black scales. The only difference was this Night Fury had a complete tail. It blinked at Toothless. Toothless blinked back. Kiora could see the shock and confusion on his face. He hadn't been around his own kind since he was very young. His eyes snapped from the other Night Fury to another place in the shadows. From that exact spot, _another_ Night Fury emerged. And another. Another from the other side of them. Quite suddenly, Kiora, Toothless, and Bea found themselves surronded by Night Furies. There must have been at least thirty. All small with green eyes. They were not, however, all black. A little less than half were white.

Kiora felt tears slipping down her cheeks. Tears of wonder and happiness. And triumph. Triumph! She had done what she set out to do. She had found the Night Furies. Hiccup couldn't be angry now! Everyone on Berk would respect and salute her. Her family would be proud. Kiora had done something not even the great Chief Hiccup had managed. She had found the Night Furies!

Bea made a strange signal with his torch. Several of the dragons blast plasma towards the cave wall. One by one, torches flared into view. They looked strange; they were lit by blue plasma, not orange fire. By the time all the torches were ablaze the cave was fully lit in a blue haze. It wasn't really a cave at all. It was a vast cavern. The Night Furies were huddled together, but appeared unafraid. They sniffed Toothless experimentally. Kiora caught sight of craters in the rocky ground that looked suspiciously like nests. This thought was confirmed when one of the white dragons moved aside to reveal a single egg in the crater. Kiora wondered if the white ones were all female. Kiora wanted to take it all in at the same time. But first, she turned to Bea who had been quiet. His blue eyes met hers. He smiled, dipping his head. Kiora realized he had led them there on purpose.

"Bea,'' she said softly. "What is this place?''


	6. Chapter 6

Kiora wolfed down the squirrel Bea had cooked on the plasma fire. It had an odd, metallic flavor, but it was still delicious. The other Night Furies shared their hunt with Toothless. Kiora watched him. He was overjoyed to be with his breed. Kiora wished she could speak to him so he could tell her if he had found his family. He must have, Kiora reasoned. Where else would they be if they weren't on Yahata? Bea had told her that's where all the existing Night Furies lived. They stayed in the cavern and slept in the day, hunting at night. They never left Yahata. Toothless must have wandered off when he was young and gotten lost.

Kiora dipped her cupped hands in the cavern stream and took a long drink. She wiped her mouth on her tunic and sighed contently. Her belly was full. Her thirst was quenched. And most of all: Kiora had found the long-lost Night Fury dragons! Now all she had to do was get back to Berk. How she was going to do that? She wasn't sure. But it wouldn't be hard. She could train a dragon and fly it home. Then Hiccup could come and fix Toothless's tail. . . . But she didn't even know the way home. Toothless didn't either. Kiora suddenly realized something.

"Hey,'' Bea nudged her with his shoulder. "What's on your mind?''

Kiora didn't trust him, but what she had to say wouldn't hurt anything. "I just thought: what if Toothless doesn't _want_ to come back home with me? What if he wants to stay here?''

Bea eyes her cooly. "Was that not the point of finding the Night Furies?''

Kiora shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't really think it through,'' she mumbled.

"Toothless wasn't yours to take, Kiora. You shouldn't have done it.''' Bea leaned forward. "Daddy isn't going to be happy.''

Something inside Kiora's mind slid into place. She leapt to her feet. "Wait a minute! I never told you anything except my name. How do you know Toothless is my Dad's? How do you even know I was looking for the Night Furies? I could have just been a random castaway. . .''

"You're from Berk.'' Bea stood up. "The only village where vikings ride _dragons._ That was obvious the first time I clapped eyes on you.''

 _I'm an idiot, I'm in idiot, I'm an idiot._

"You're Hiccup's little brat. Of course I know of you. Your daddy has the only Night Fury not on Yahata. Scarlip's been keeping an eye on him for years. That you were looking for the other Night Furies—that was an educated guess. What else would you be doing out here all alone? Because, yes, Kiora. You _are_ all alone. Daddy isn't here to save you this time.''

A tear slipped down Kiora's cheek. "I trusted you.''

Bea laughed. "Why? I just met you. I'd done nothing to gain your trust.''

"But you did. You brought Toothless and I to a shelter. You hid us from the dragon hunters. You fed us. You've kept us alive the last twelve hours! How could I not trust you?"

"You know nothing of survival do you?'' Bea sighed as if she was very disappointing. "It's time you get to bed; you're exhausted.''

This time Kiora laughed. "'Get to bed'? Gods, Bea. You just admitted to be a dragon hunter, working for Scarmouth or whatever! Apparently yo9u know everything about me! Oh, _now_ I can really sleep peacefully!''

Bea looked bored with the conversation. "Yes, I know things about you. Not everything, certainly. Though I'd like to know more about you personally ("In your dreams,'' Kiora snorted). I only know what I was taught by Scarlip. And you're wrong. I do not work for him. He raised me. I betray him everyday. Satisfied?''

"Not without an explanation.''

"You suck. Okay, here it is. Scarlip tracked the Night Furies to Yahata almost twenty years ago. He wanted to hunt them to extinction. I honestly don't know why. He studied them, learned everything he could. But he could never catch a single one. They are too fast, intelligent. So he hired entire crews of hunters. He works quite obsessively at it. A decade ago, I washed ashore Yahata. I had been shipwrecked I guess. I don't really remember. Anyway, Scarlip took me in. Raised me. I became his sort of elite soldier. And then I betrayed him. I knew it was wrong killing them, but it had never had stopped me from hunting the Night Furies. I never thought I could actually catch one. And then I did. I was face-to-face with her, Kiora. I looked at her and she looked at me. I saw something. It was. . . me. We were both shocked and scared at facing each other. She didn't want to die and I didn't want to kill her. So I didn't. I betrayed Scarlip, my savior, because I couldn't kill a dragon. Then to make things worse, I hid them. The Night Fury, Giselle, showed me their hideout, the cavern. And instead of reporting it like I should have, I improved it to better protect the Night Furies. For the last four years I've been lying everyday to Scarlip. I say I'm hunting dragons when I'm actually here in the cavern with them. It hasn't been discovered because I lead the other hunters off. Say I've checked a hundred times. They believe me. They all trust me. Kiora, that's the thing about trust. You get into the habit of doing so. You start to trust that one person with your life. And if they end up being false. . .'' Beathan trailed off.

They sat in silence. Someone was looking— _hunting—_ the Night Furies. Toothless was in danger! Kiora had to fix his tail and get off Yahata. But she felt like she should help Bea. There was something eerily similar to how he reacted when trying to kill Giselle to what Hiccup had experienced when he failed to kill Toothless so many years ago. And if Bea hadn't found the Furies before Scarlip and the hunters they both would have died. If she got Hiccup and the riders to help Bea. . .

"Don't try to help me,'' said Bea quietly. "You need to go. Take a quick nap, then go. Hurry while you still can.''

Kiora glanced over at Toothless where he was frolicking with his new friends. Just the other day he had been depressed and lonely. She could not take it all away from him. "No. I cannot go and leave you here. I have to help you. You helped me. We can help each other. It's what friend's do.''

"Oh, what, so we're friends now?''

"Yes we are. And we're going to find a way out of this. You and I. We'll think of something. Maybe once I fix Toothless' tail we can all fly to Berk. You would be welcome, Bea, and of course the Furies would be. My dad would be thrilled! So would Mom, and Grandma, and everyone! I think—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down.'' Bea held up a hand. "First, I can't fly the dragons. I've never tried, I would be seen. I don't know how. Again, we would be seen. The hunters have these crazy crossbows. Half the flock would be shot out of the sky.''

Kiora pursed her lips.

Bea smiled. "Look, just go to bed. We'll figure it out in the morning.''

Kiora was suddenly exhausted she hadn't slept sin e her knock-out that morning. She tried to get comfortable on the rocky ground. It was impossible. She suddenly felt her head resting against Bea's thigh. She looked up at him. He gave her a cocky smile. "Comfy?''

Before she could move he settled down too. Kiora's head ended up on Bea's shoulder. They stared at the ceiling in a comfortable silence. Kiora had never slept with a boy before. It wasn't sexual so it probably didn't count as her first time anyway.

"Won't the hunters wonder where you are?'' Kiora whispered.

"Nah. I have an overnight shift.''

"But you've been gone all day.''

"The hunters work twenty-four hours, rest twenty-four hours.''

"Oh.''

Subconsciously, she snuggled closer to Beathan and fell sound asleep.

 **Please follow, favorite, and _review!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**I just wanna give a shoutout to Mariah for** **faithfully reading and reviewing every chapter! It really motivates me! Thanks gurl:)**

 **Okkkkaaaaaayyyyyy. Httyd 3 made Steven Spielberg cry. SAY WHAT? If it made that movie legend cry imma gonna flood the theater. . .**

Kiora shielded her eyes with her hand. The morning sun was bright and warm. She shifted the sand beneath her bare toes. She had had the best morning of her life. When she had awakened Bea (who was awake and cooking them breakfast on a plasma-lit fire), told her that he would be at Scarlip's camp all morning. Kiora had decided to take that as a opportunity to bathe herself. After Bea left, Kiora had gone straight down to the beach. It was on the opposite side of the island then the one she had crashed onto the day before. It was about a ten-minute walk. Leaving Toothless playing happily with his new friends, she was alone. Kiora stripped off her filthy tunic and leggings and pulled off her boots. She washed them in the water. Then she placed her clean clothes on a rocky ledge to dry, careful to not get sand in them. Kiora waded into the cool water until it reached her shoulders. She swam around for almost a half-hour before lying out in the sun to dry off. By then her clothes were dry. She wriggled into them. Kiora took a moment to engage her surroundings. The island was beautiful. From the bluffs, to the forest, to the vast sea surrounding it. She would stare at it all day if she could. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

"Enjoying the scenery?'' Bea said from behind her.

Kiora flushed scarlet. "You weren't watching me, were you?''

"No,'' Bea said innocently. Then with a sly smile he added, "Did I miss anything?''

Kiora snorted.

"Now then, what was it you wanted me to see?''

"Not see,'' she explained," _do.''_

"Fine, _do.''_

Kiora flipped her wet hair dramatically, spraying Bea with salty water. She cupped her hands to her mouth and emitted a hoarse bellow. Her throat prickled in protest. Hiccup never complained about making dragon-call noises, but Kiora avoided it whenever possible. Her throat was always raw afterwards. Probably because it took so many to get Icebreath's attention. . .

Toothless swooped down to the beach. Two white Night Furies accompanied him. Kiora beckoned the small black dragon to her. She patted his head but spoke sternly, "Toothless, I deliberately told you to bring _one_ dragon with you. We don't need the other.''

Toothless shook his head in protest, snorting.

 _At least he's made friends. . ._

The larger of the two white Furies was purring and nuzzling Bea.

"This is Giselle,'' he told Kiora. "She's a Light Fury. That's what we call female Night Furies.''

Kiora nodded but could not speak. Giselle was the most beautiful thing Kiora had ever seen. She was a shear white. Her scales sparkled in sunlight. Her eyes were big, blue and wise. She carried herself with dignity and grace. The other, smaller Light Fury frisked impatiently. Toothless nuzzled against her. The Light Fury took a step back, surprised and unsure. She glanced at Bea.

"Your dragon digs Giselle's sister,'' Bea laughed.

Kiora did not find this funny. Toothless didn't know how to flirt! Poor guy. . . The younger Light Fury was extremely confused. It wasn't Toothless fault he couldn't make a good impression. Kiora tried to think of a way to help him. But she wasn't a dragon. She wasn't ever a trainer! She found herself wishing for Astrid. Or Fishlegs. Or even Snotlout or the twins. But not Hiccup. He would not simply help Kiora. He would do it himself and it would be perfect. Kiora felt she was note finished proving herself.

"Kiora!'' Bea snapped.

Kiora focused. "Yeah?''

"Why are we here? We're gonna be seen by a hunter.''

"We won't.'' Kiora beckoned him to follow her. He reluctantly obeyed. Kiora climbed onto Toothless' back. She tried to place her foot in his flight gear but it was not there. Kiora bit her lip. She had forgotten about that. Toothless' eyes skimmed the sand guiltily. On his back, Kiora felt her own sense of guilt. This was her fault. Now she couldn't. . . She straightened. _So_ that's _why Toothless brought two Light Furies!_ He had known what she was planning to do. She clambered off him. Bea watched her with raise eyebrows as if he was questioning her sanity.

Kiora placed a hand on the smaller of the Light Furies. "Bea, what's her name?''

Bea shrugged. "I haven't named them all. Just Giselle.''

Kiora frowned. That was not how things were on Berk. "Well, I'm going to name her.'' She looked into the milky blue eyes, thinking. "I'm going to call you Swiftwing.''

"That's an odd name.''

"Well, that's how we do things on Berk!'' She snapped.

Bea rolled his eyes.

She turned to Toothless. "Can you make it back to the cave, buddy?''

Toothless blinked warmly in confirmation. He scrambled easily up the rocks and darted into the forest towards the cave.

Kiora stroked Swiftwing's snout. Trust registered in her eyes. _That was easy._ Kiora pulled herself onto Swiftwing's back. The Light Fury shifted beneath her but did not throw her off. That was good. "Your turn.''

Bea stared blankly at her. "What?''

"I'm teaching you how to ride, genius.''

 _"_ _Why?''_

"Because flying is the easiest way off this island. You learn to ride dragons, I fix Toothless' flight gear. Then we're off.''

For the first time, Bea looked uncertain. "I don't—"

"Too bad. Now place your right hand on Giselle's neck—good—now you'll notice the scales are dry. It's easy—use them for friction and pull yourself upswinging right leg over so you're straddling her—good! Yay! Aren't you proud yourself?''

"Shut up,'' Bea muttered, holding on for dear life. Giselle seemed happy to have him on her back, which surprised Kiora. Usually new dragons were wary to have humans aboard them.

"Okay, Swiftwing.'' Kiora tapped the Light Fury so she understood Kiora was talking to her. "I'm going to give you a little kick, okay?'' It was a bit of a lie. Kiora gave Swiftwing a hard kick to the side and leaned forward. The dragon ran several paces and took flight. Her pearly wings spread gracefully out, catching the wind. Judging from the yelp behind her, Kiora knew Bea and Giselle were close behind.

Kiora loved flying. She _loved_ it. Her hair billowed behind her, drying almost instantaneously. The sharp wind stung her cheeks. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She had never gone this fast before. She knew Night Furies were fast from having ridden Toothless. But Toothless' tail was severely damaged. Swiftwing was young and in perfect condition. She was even faster than Hiccup's dragon. Kiora longed to soar over the water and catch the salty spray on her tongue, but resigned. If they were seen, they were screwed. She drove Swiftwing up to the clouds, willing Bea and Giselle to follow. Her vision misted as she flew through the clouds. Kiora remembered the last time she had tried that. Toothless and she had been struck out of the sky. But there was no storm raging today. The clouds were pure white and fluffy, not gray and heavy like storm clouds.

Once Swiftwing cleared the clouds, Kiora slowed her down to a gentle glide. Giselle pulled up next to her. She seemed happy. Bea, on the other hand, had his arms wrapped around his dragon's neck and his eyes were squeezed shut. Kiora had the urge to laugh. She restrained herself. Bea seemed to realize they had slowed down. His eyes cracked open. He shuddered.

"Never been this high before?'' Kiora asked as gently as she could.

Bea was staring at the clouds below him, unable to see the island or the sea. Kiora took that as a 'no'. Besides how would he if he had never flown before?

"Don't look down,'' advised Kiora. "Stare straight ahead.''

Bea lifted his head nervously. They flew in silence for a while. Once the boy stopped clutching Giselle's neck Kiora started teaching him the ways of a dragon rider. She wasn't aware of how long they soared above the clouds. It caused a happy feeling in Kiora's chest. She was happy. She fervently tried to not think about any of her problems. It was just her and Bea and two magnificent Light Furies. By the time they swooped down to landing, the sun was setting. Bea had to "hunt" that night so he bade her a quick farewell and ran off. Giselle and Swiftwing returned to the cave. Kiora stood by herself on the beach long into the night.

* * *

Astrid sat alone, her knees pulled up to her chest. She stared out into distance. The storm had been a bad one. There was damage. Most of the dragons were still shaken. Small fires were still burning in the forest where lightening had struck. The ground was damp. The villagers were all quiet and mournful as they buried their dead livestock. And her, Astrid's, daughter had been away from home. She had ran away. If the storm hadn't killed her, she was on a foreign island. That was if she was alive at all. As soon as the storm had ended the Dragon Trainers had searched every known island. Kiora was no where to be found. Common sense told Astrid she was dead. But her heart told her Kiora was alive. She was smart and resourceful. She new how to fly. She knew how to survive. Astrid repeated this over and over in her head. It was the only thing that kept her going.

Astrid felt someone sit down beside her. She allowed her head to rest on Hiccup's shoulder. She wished she could just vent all her thoughts and problems to him like she had always been able to do. But this was a touchy subject for her husband. His daughter wasn't just missing, so was his dragon. Astrid was actually quite aggravated with him at the moment. She had come to the conclusion Hiccup was more concerned about Toothless than Kiora. Sure, Toothless had been Hiccup's best friend since he was a boy. But Kiora was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Astrid would have appreciated just a little more concern for her. But she didn't say anything to him. Or anyone else. That would only make things worse for everyone.

Hiccup wrapped his arm around Astrid's shoulders. He was exhausted. He had searched every inch of every island—twice. Kiora was gone. . . Toothless was gone. . .

"It's been three days,'' Astrid murmured.

"We'll find her,'' said Hiccup, sounding about ten times more confident then he felt.

"No, we won't.'' Astrid's voice was shaking. Hiccup realized she was crying. He couldn't let that happen. Kiora was a brat. Hiccup was one pissed dad. But Astrid was upset. Hiccup could not give up so easily. And then there was Toothless. . . Oooh, assuming Kiora was alive, she was going to get it.

Hiccup stood up. He pulled Astrid to her feet and held her tightly against his chest. "We're going to find them, Astrid. I promise. They aren't dead. I can feel it.''

"Me too,'' she whispered.

Hiccup pulled a smile. Astrid managed a weak one and dried her eyes.

"Let's get the Trainers together. We'll leave Mom in charge of Berk. Hopefully we won't be gone long. But the six of us are going on a mission, just like old times. We're going to bring Kiora and Toothless home.''


	8. Chapter 8

**Please,** ** _please, PLEASE,_** ** _PLEASE_** **don't hate me. I know it's been almost a full month since last updating. I'm truly sorry. School started and I'm using a new curriculum that has a stupid-crazy amount of writing, which I have unfortunately had to prioritize over fanfiction. Also, I'm doing Disney's musical** ** _Newsies_** **with CYT this Fall and my rehearsal schedule is insane. And sleep is important, yada, yada, on with the story—**

A warm breeze blew Kiora's long loose hair into her face. She brushed it away, spitting out the strands that had blown into her mouth. Bea laughed beside her. She scowled, then broke into a half-smile. "What do you have to laugh about?''

Beathan elbowed her playfully. "You.''

"Me?'' Kiora asked in mock distress. "Whatever is so funny about me?''

"Everything, darling.''

Kiora knew Bea was only joking when he called her "darling" but a flutter started in her heart anyway. Hiccup called Astrid that sometimes. . . Kiora shook herself. She had never really known any boys well. She was always more of a dragon girl. Of course, the boys of Berk all flirted with her, but Kiora ignored them. But now when Bea called her "darling" as a joke it meant something. The thought of her crushing on Bea annoyed Kiora. They had only known each other four days. And there were more important things than teenage romance. Such as getting forty Night/Light Furies off Yahata. . .

"Hey, you awake?'' Bea was staring at her, a confused, amused expression on his face.

"Yes,'' she replied stiffly.

Kiora and Bea were sitting side-by-side a little ways out of the Furies cave. They were watching Toothless and Swiftwing tumble on the ground. Swiftwing had quickly gotten over the fact that Toothless couldn't fly. If anything, it had made her protective towards him. Now the two were best of friends. Kiora marveled at how the dragons did it. She and Bea had been friends for four days and they still had awkward moments. Of course, human relationships took more time usually. But being with Bea was the only human interaction Kiora had had since leaving Berk. And she knew he preferred her company to the other Hunters.

"So,'' Bea pulled a fistful of grass up and let the wind sweep it away. "What's the plan?''

"We fly the Furies out by night,'' Kiora said promptly. "We can do so as soon as I figure out how to fix Toothless' tail. . .''

Bea didn't say anything for a long while. They just sat there together, watching their dragons frolic happily.

"I'm going to miss them,'' he said softly as last, "and you.''

Kiora looked up, confused. "What?''

"After you've gone, I'll be alone again. It's fine, really. Scarlip will eventually discover the dragons have moved on and we'll go some place new. A new island. Maybe a new sea. New adventures. Life will go on.''

Kiora's eyes skimmed the horizon. "You're not coming with us?''

"No.''

"You never were planning to?''

"No.''

"Why?''

"As much as I hate it, being with the Hunters is where I belong,'' Bea explained. "It's all I've ever known. I can't leave. . . It's complicated. But I can help you leave. I'm happy to do it.''

"You _can_ leave,'' Kiora urged. "Come to Berk with us! You'll be welcome, I swear it! Please, Bea, you can't stay with these terrible people.''

"They aren't terrible. It's the things they do that are terrible.''

"Scarlip's terrible,'' she snapped.

"Touche.'' Beathan abruptly got to his feet. "I have to go.''

Kiora watched him disappear into the forest. She clenched her fists in anger. He was being so stupid. His logic made no sense. He _had_ to come with them! He couldn't just stay with the Hunters and let them control his life. Kiora had seem him with the dragons. Bea had a real talent. He couldn't throw it away and be someone he was not. She had to go talk with him.

As she got to her feet, she saw Swiftwing pounce on Toothless. Kiora was momentarily alarmed. Then she realized the Furies were just playing. Swiftwing rolled on top of Toothless. He gazed back up at her. She licked his chin. Kiora turned away with uncontent sigh. Toothless and Swiftwing had known each other three days and they were hitting off perfectly, no trouble at all. Kiora wished human life was that simple.

Kiora plopped back down onto the ground. She could not go after Bea. Not now. He was "hunting dragons". She would talk to him tomorrow morning. Suddenly, Kiora was lonely. She missed her parents. She missed her mediocre friends. She missed Berk. She knew at this point her parents must miss her too. They would be worried. Her dad would be worried about Toothless. Maybe even more so than her, Kiora. But that was well deserved Toothless had been an extremely loyal friend to Hiccup over the years. Kiora had been a rotten daughter, she knew she had. But for the first time she was regretting it.

A tear traced down her pale cheek.

* * *

She waited for Bea. She waited for the next morning, when he would come.

But Bea never did come. Kiora spent all morning waiting outside the cave for him. He never showed up. She automatically assumed the worst. But if he had been caught wouldn't the Furies all be dead by now? Kiora began to feel guilty. What if Bea was avoiding her on purpose? Had she hurt his feelings or made him uncomfortable by saying the only family he had ever known was terrible? _But they_ are _terrible!_ A tiny voice in Kiora's mind repeatedly screeched. _But you shouldn't have said so to his face,_ she chided herself.

Eventually, Kiora went back into the cave. The Furies were interacting with each other peacefully and happily. Kiora could only watch them. Giselle sat on a tall rock, watching her colony. She was beautiful. Relaxed and serene. Again, Kiora wished humans could have the mind-set of dragons. The dragons were intelligent enough to feel the basic emotions, but didn't sweat the small matters in life. Kiora was afraid for Bea. And she was beginning to fear something else—returning home. She was getting less and less confident her family and the Berkians would be excited to see her. Her parents especially would be disappointed and angry she had upped and left without speaking a word to anyone. Kiora's only hope was that her sudden disappearance would be forgotten in commotion and excitement of the Night Furies.

Kiora could not stand sitting still any longer. She crossed through the cave to where Swiftwing stood alone, licking herself. Kiora had bonded with Swiftwing already. Already Kiora felt closer to her than she ever had Icebreath. Sure, they weren't as close as she and Firestarter had been, but for five days of knowing each other they were doing well. Kiora stroked Swiftwing's neck, trying not to think about any single one of her problems. There were so many things that she was not sure of. On the contrary, there was only one thing that Kiora was sure of: she never should have left home.

 **Ughghghghhg that was so crappy/cringey. I"M SORRY. Did I mention I felt pressured? Anyway, thanks so much for reading, I hope you are enjoying this story. I will be updating less often now that I've gotten busy, but I swear I will finish this story. Please follow, favorite, and review! Until next time;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Hidden World ComicCon trailer tho . . .**

 **I mean honestly, Baby Hiccup was the cutest** **frickin thing. . .**

 **The new trailer comes out the 25th! I'll hopefully post a longer, better chapter that day to reward y'alls for being so patient for this one. I'll try to be better about updating in the future. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. You guys are the actual best!**

She woke with a start. At first she thought she had had a nightmare that she couldn't quite recall, and that she was back on Berk. But as Kiora popped open her eyes reality came crashing down. She was in the Furies cave on Yahata. It was almost pitch-black. The dragons, being ever courteous, had lit a small plasma fire for her so she could see.

Kiora sat up. She spit a loose strand of hair out of her mouth. A shiver ran down her spine. She rubbed her arms in attempt to warm them. Toothless had not slept beside her maintain her warmth. In the dim light, Kiora saw him snuggled against Swiftwing. It made her lonely. She now thoroughly missed her family and all of Berk. Kiora's mind was constantly going back-and-forth with her plan to free the Night and Light Furies. Sometimes she regretted ever leaving her home in the first place. She had just complicated things for everyone. Other times, Kiora was immensely proud. She had found the Night Furies! _And_ discovered the Light Furies! She was going to bring them back to Berk where they would be safe. She was going to make her father proud.

The one thing that stood in the way of their escape was Toothless. Kiora still hadn't figured out how to mend his tail. She had considered leaving him on Yahata and returning with Hiccup who could fix it easily. But she knew that Toothless could not take care of himself and if something happened to him. . . No, Kiora couldn't even think about it. She marveled at how she had grown up watching Hiccup improve and modify Toothless' artifcial tail, and had not picked up any hints on how to make it. How hard could it be, she had always thought. Under normal circumstances, Kiora probably could have figured it out. But she had absolutely no suitable materiel. She would have to see if Bea could smuggle something from the Hunters camp. . .

Wait, there was another thing that stood in Kiora's way. Beathan. Kiora had not seen him for two days. He _promised_ he would be back, but he never came. Had something happened to him? Had Scarlip discovered his secret? But if Scarlip knew about Kiora and the Furies than why hadn't he already attacked? Kiora's best guess was Bea had gotten hung-up at work. Or maybe he was being closely watched. _Or maybe he's sick or hurt._

Kiora got to her feet and started pacing, careful not to awaken the softly snoring dragons. She was annoyed at herself for caring so much about Bea. She barely knew him and she shouldn't care. _But should I? He saved Toothless' and my lives and has protected us this far._

Kiora stopped by a ledge. Perched on top of it, fully alert, was Giselle. Her blue eyes were narrowed and her ears were flat against her head. She didn't acknowledge Kiora, but Kiora knew the Light Fury was aware of her presence. Giselle was watching for Bea. She was waiting to hear his soft footfalls approaching and see his slim body emerge from the shadows.

"I miss him too, girl,'' Kiora whispered.

Eyes still fixed ahead, Giselle inclined her head. Kiora stroked her head. Gradually, the dragon's ears relaxed and her eyes grew round again. She emitted a gentle purr. Kiora smiled. Giselle was almost as loyal to Bea as Toothless was to Hiccup or as Stormfly was to Astrid. Thoughts of her parents sent pain ricocheting through Kiora's skull. She sighed. '

Kiora stayed with Giselle until she fell asleep. Then Kiora herself lied down by Toothless and Swiftwing. The dragons stirred slightly, but still did not awaken. Kiora settled in and shut her eyes.

"Grandpa?'' She whispered into the dark. "If you can hear me, please keep my friend Beathan safe. Please help me rescue the Night Furies. I know I never met you, but Grandma always says you're with me. If you really are—just send help, okay? Anything will do.''

* * *

"Kiora!'' A familiar voice called.

Kiora raced out of the cave into the broad daylight. All morning she had been waiting. Waiting for something to happen. She believed her prayer to Stoick the Vast would help her. She also had thrown in a briefing to Odin, just in case. Kiora slipped in a patch of mud just outside the cave entrance and skidded full-body into Bea.

"Whoa—Hey, Kiora. What's up?'' He was standing right in front of her, after missing for nearly three days, with a swing in his hip and a twinkle in his eye. He had a large canvas back slung around his shoulder.

"You _idiot!''_ Kiora punched his arm. "Where the _actual hell_ have you been?!"

"What—hey—ow!—Sorry, sorry, I'm really, truly, sorry—Hey, would you stop hitting me already?" Bea held up his hands to shield his face.

Kiora was fuming, but she stopped battering him. "Three days. Three days, Bea.''

"Yeah, I know.''

She flushed. " _And?"_

"And I'm sorry. I'll never do it again.''

"That's right you won't!'' She snapped.

Bea smiled apologetically. "One of the Hunters fell down a ledge and twisted his ankle pretty bad. I had to cover his posts and mine. It took longer than expected and I didn't have time to come and explain.''

"I was worried about you,'' Kiora said flatly.

This perked Bea up even more. "Sorry, like I said. But I think this will make you forgive me.'' He unslung the bag from his shoulder. "I brought you something for Toothless. I think it will help you fix his tail.''

Kiora quickly sifted through the contents of the bag. "This will work just fine,'' she said excitedly. He beamed back at her. She added, with a shy smile of her own, "Thank you.''


	10. Chapter 10

**Guess who actually updated on time for once? Hint: It was me.**

 **The new Hidden World trailer is absolutely fantastic! Again, gotta love Baby Hiccup. Such a cute little munchkin. Lots of Hiccstrid and also stuff on Toothless' fling with the Light Fury. I was super stoked to see more of the other trainers too. Tuffnut omfg I love him so muchXD ANNND YA KNOW WHAT THE BEST PART IS?**

 **THE HIDDEN WORLD RELEASE DATE HAS BEEN MOVED UP AN ENTIRE WEEK!**

 **I'm excited, okay? But, honestly, who isn't? The new date is February 22, 2019! I'm guessing it was moved up because Chaos Walking (with my bae Tom Holland and my homegirl Daisy Ridley) is coming out March 1. I'm just glad they didn't push the date _back_ for the umpteenth time. **

**So here's chapter 10 of Fury of the Night. Please follow, favorite, and review! The plot is reaching climax! Shit's gettin real!**

"You ready?''

"Nearly,'' Kiora breathed. She adjusted the final strap on Toothless' makeshift tail. "That feel alright?''

Toothless purred.

Kiora frowned. The tail she had made looked almost nothing like the ones Hiccup made. Crude, not as sturdy. But it would have to work. There were no other options.

"That'll fly, right?'' Bea asked in a casual tone that meant he seriously doubted it.

"Yes, of course it will fly,'' Kiora answered a little defensively. Then added, "Although I'm not sure how far.''

"That's convenient,'' Bea snorted.

Kiora rolled her eyes crossly. She patted Toothless on the head. "We should check Giselle's flight gear.''

Bea nodded and started adjusting the straps on his dragon's saddle. Kiora watched him. Tonight was the night. Come hell or high water they were going to get off of Yahata. And they were taking the Furies with them. They had the plan all worked out. They would leave at midnight, when Scarlip's guards changed. Bea was assigned to the next shift and his absence would confuse the men. Hopefully that was all the stall time they needed.

Kiora knew it would take awhile either way. There were so many Furies and they all had to escape in secret. The Night Furies would be easier than the Light Furies because they already blended in. The Light Furies would have to be really quiet and not draw any attention to themselves.

One particular thing worried Kiora. Even if they did escape, how would they find Berk? She had told Bea that Toothless' instincts would lead them home. But would they? She shook herself. She was getting nervous. Kiora knew that was why she was doubting the plan. _Stick to the plan,_ she repeated over and over. _Trust the plan._

Kiora and Bea sat close by the fire, watching the sunset. Drinking out of leaves and munching on squirrel meat, they made small-talk. But mostly they just sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence. Kiora watched Bea's graceful, but tough hands weave long grasses together. She could tell he'd done it many times before. His fingers knew where to go. His eyes stared thoughtfully towards the horizon. Kiora longed to know what was going on inside his head, but she did not dare to ask. _Boundaries, Kiora. He's a stranger._ But Beathan was no stranger. They had known each other for around two weeks (Kiora was losing track). Not long, Kiora admitted. But she felt closer to him than she had to almost anyone she had ever met—besides her parents and grandmother. The fact was, she and Bea had been through too much together for either of them to ever be the same. Now, watching the dragon hunter, Kiora felt the same warmth blossom in her chest she'd felt previously around the boy.

"Kiora?'' Bea tossed his weaving to the ground.

"Yeah?''

"Do—do you think Chief Hiccup will like me?'' His brow was furrowed in worried.

"Of course,'' Kiora quickly reassured him. "You've led Berk to the Night Furies! Dad's been searching for them, wondering if they truly existed, for years. How could he not accept you?''

Bea frowned. "I did not ask if he would accept me.''

"Oh.'' Kiora paused. "But, Bea, trust me. Hiccup _will_ like you. I know because you're just like him. And he doesn't overlook people. I ran away from Berk because I thought no one—I thought Hiccup wasn't listening to me. But he was. He just understood reality better. He knew what was best for me, Toothless, and Berk. And I disobeyed him. Now I've put myself and his best friend in danger. But that's beside the point. As I was saying, Hiccup has never forgotten how he felt as a boy. He won't misunderstand you, Beathan. He'll see you. . . and he'll see himself. Please believe me. You trust me?''

"I trust you, Kiora.''

Kiora scooted closer so they were touching. She wrapped her arms around his chest and he lay one long arm across her shoulders. They remained that way for a long time. Neither of them could sleep.

Finally, Bea glanced at the stars. "It's eleven o'clock,'' he murmured. "Let's go.''

Kiora was reluctant break the spell, but she nodded and followed Bea inside the cave. The dragons were waiting for them. They understood something was happening. Kiora approached Toothless.

"Hey, bud.'' She scratched his chin. "Ready to fly?''

Toothless purred excitedly.

"Good,'' Kiora muttered.

Bea had already started shepherding the Furies out of the caverns. They seemed confused on why they were leaving, but Bea was obviously well-trusted among them.

Kiora glanced around. "Toothless, where's Swiftwing?''

Toothless' ears lay flat for a moment. Kiora knew that was a sign of agitation. She jogged up beside Bea. Giselle, who was standing with Beathan, inclined her head towards her.

"Have you seen Swiftwing?''

Bea shook his head. "Sorry, no.''

Kiora thought hard. "We need to find her.''

Bea shook his head a second time. "Kiora, if she isn't with the rest of the Furies, then she isn't coming.''

Kiora protested. Not only did Swiftwing mean a lot to Toothless, but Kiora herself had grown quite fond of her. She had been secretly hoping Swiftwing would become her new dragon.

"Look here,'' reasoned Bea, "I'm sure she's caught up in the front.''

Kiora hoped so.

Once all the dragons were out in the open, Kiora pulled herself up onto Toothless' back. She slipped her foot in the strap that steered his tail. He shifted under her slightly. Bea climbed onto Giselle. He was riding bare-back, but sat up tall and straight all the same. Kiora's heart was pounding in her chest. She took one last look for Swiftwing. She couldn't see her, but it was dark. She hoped the Light Fury was close. Nerves suddenly swept over Kiora so fast and so hard she almost puked. All the things that could go wrong were blocking out every positive thought. She wanted to forfeit. She wanted to go home. Wait, Kiora _was_ going home. No, no, Kiora wish she'd never even _left_ home.

"Kiora.'' Bea's steady voice cut through her thoughts. She felt her heart brace. After several deep breaths, she was ready.

"Let's go,'' she said.

She saw Bea's eyes sweep over every inch of Yahata in sight. This was his home. He was leaving his home. For a moment, Kiora thought she saw his second-guessing, but only a moment.

"It wasn't much of a home anyway,'' he said as if he was reading her mind. "Lead the way, daughter of Hiccup!''

Kiora usually didn't like being referred to as "daughter of Hiccup", but now she was proud. She bent down and whispered in Toothless' ear. "Let's do this.''

Hiccup's dragon took several leaping bounds and took off. He flapped his wings quickly to gain altitude. Kiora sensed Giselle and Bea right behind them. Suddenly the air was thick with the dull sound of wingbeats. Kiora dared a glance behind her. A flock of Furies was following her. She could have laughed. The plan was working! They were escaping Yahata, they were going to Berk. The Night Furies were finally free!

A sudden whiz broke the steady din of wingbeats. Out of the corner of her eye, Kiora saw a single shaft shooting straight towards—

 _R-I-I-I-I-I-P_

Kiora was falling. Down, down, down. She was detached from Toothless. She knew nothing but air. Open, free air. And she was falling faster.

Then, with a sudden jolt, she was no longer falling. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Someone had their arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She dared to open her eyes. She was in front of Bea (he was who was holding her) on Giselle. They were darting back the way they came. The other dragons were squawking and flailing in the air. Kiora her men yelling in the distance. The chaos was too much. Kiora felt like she was drowning. It was all too much. She squeezed her eyes shut so tightly she saw white spots dancing before her vision. Too much. . .

* * *

Kiora opened her eyes to total darkness. She was lying uncomfortably on a hard surface. She reached out with both her arms trying to feel for something, anything. A light suddenly flickered into existence. It was blue. Several more blue fires appeared. Plasma.

Kiora jumped to her feet. She remembered everything.

"Sit down, Kiora.'' Bea was staring up at her, sitting not far off, his expression impossible to read.

Kiora obeyed, shaking herself. "Was I dreaming?''

"No.''

Kiora's heart plummeted. "But—but we're back in the caves of Yahata—"

"That's right.''

Kiora wrung her hands. Everything had gone wrong. The hunters had found them. They had turned back. They were back to square one. They could probably never leave. Now that Scarlip and his men knew about the dragons they would be hunted more vivaciously than ever. What if the hunters found the caves? What if—

Giselle was asleep beside Bea.

"Toothless?'' Kiora was shaking.

Bea met her eyes. "They shot him down first, Kiora. I don't know if he made it. But I do know one thing: if the arrow didn't kill him, Scarlip did himself. I'm sorry Kiora. Toothless is dead.''


	11. Chapter 11

Silence, Kiora discovered, was more painful to the ear than a massive explosion. Its definition was a deathly quiet, the absence of sound. But to Kiora it felt like the absence of life itself. For two days it had swallowed her up. For two days she had sat shivering on the hard, stone cold floor of the cave. She was surrounded by dragons but they made no noise. Beathen usually sat across from her, but ever since dropping the news of Toothless' demise he had not spoken a word except to explain their predicament.

 _Toothless. Oh gods, Toothless._

The escape had failed. Toothless was dead. Kiora and Bea and all the Furies were trapped in a cave, safe but devastated. They had not only failed to escape Yahata, they had lost even more freedom. The dragons were unable to go anywhere outside the cave. Scarlip and his cronies now knew Bea was involved with the dragons. After telling her about Toothless, Bea had told Kiora that someone had seen him. The watchers and hunters had certainly increased their patrols and were searching the island thoroughly for any sign of them. It would be way too risky and hella stupid to leave the cave.

But Kiora did not want to leave. She never, ever wanted to leave. She never, ever wanted to return to Berk. She never wanted to see her mother or grandmother again. And above all, she could never, not for the rest of her life, face her father. Because of her, his best friend was dead. Toothless would never even had been in danger if it wasn't for her pride and stubbornness. Kiora had selfishly drug him into her scheme to prove her worth. She had miserably failed.

Kiora's stomach suddenly clenched painfully. She took a deep breath and pushed down on it. The pain briefly subsided. That was their other problem. None of them had eaten in two days. They had no food stored in the cave and couldn't leave. _Trapped, silent, hopeless._

Another hour passed. Finally, Bea stood up an stretched his long limbs. He started for the cave entrance.

Alarmed, Kiora shot to her feet. "Where are you going?'' Her voice was raspy from not haven spoken in so long.

"We need food.'' Bea's was hoarse too.

"You can't go out there!'' Kiora exclaimed.

"We have to _eat,_ '' the boy persisted.

Kiora's stomach gave another painful lurch. Bea was right. They did have to eat eventually. Kiora realized she had been secretly hoping she would starve to death. She shrugged off the idea. It was stupid. She couldn't help anyone if she was dead.

"Fine,'' she snapped. "But don't get yourself killed. And good luck finding food for forty dragons.''

"I'm only finding you and I a squirrel or something. It's almost dusk. Once the sun has completely set I'm releasing Giselle and Swiftwing to hunt for the dragons. Not all of them will be able to eat tonight but they can go longer without food than humans.''

Kiora felt a tinge of worry. Not only for Bea, but also Swiftwing. She didn't want to lose another dragon. Or friend. But Kiora had no choice but to let Bea and the dragons hunt.

"Careful,'' she told him.

"I will be.'' He smiled and disappeared into the dark.

Kiora sent a prayer to Stoick the vast for Beathen's safety. Then she reluctantly sat back down and played her new favorite game. Waiting.

* * *

Beathen returned one hour later with two fat squirrels. Kiora and he quickly cooked them and then preceded to scald their mouths in the hurry to fill their whining stomachs. Kiora never knew such a simple meal could taste better than the grandest feast. After they both finished easting, silence lapsed again. Kiora found herself staring into Bea's blue eyes. Their gaze met for a long time. It was only broken when Bea stifled a yawn.

"You should get some sleep,'' Kiora encouraged him.

Bea seemed reluctant to oblige, but Kiora finally convinced him to curl up by Giselle and take a nap. With nothing better to do, Kiora got to her feet and wandered over to Swiftwing.

"Hey, girl.''

The Light Fury blinked thoughtfully. Kiora ran her hands down Swiftwing's head, neck, and shoulders. She remembered her father doing the same to his dragon. His dragon, Toothless. But Toothless was gone now. And it was her fault. Her fault. Her fault. _My fault. Everything is my fault. Everything is_ always _my goddam fault!_

She suddenly pulled away from Swiftwing. The dragon eyed her warily. Kiora's heart fluttered in her chest.

"I can't stay here,'' she gasped.

With that, she turned and fled.

* * *

Kiora wasn't sure how long she ran. She ran until she no longer could. She pushed through the forest, sprinting like the enemy was on her heels. Branches cut her face and arms as she pushed through the denser parts of the forest. Finally, Kiora stumbled and fell to her hands and knees. She stayed there for several moments gasping for air. When she caught her breath, she sat back on her heels. Kiora rubbed her throbbing temples. Her stomach pinched from over-exertion. Her eyes smarted. The various cuts and scratches on her face and arms stung wickedly.

Night had fallen. After being stuck in the cavern for two days. Kiora was hesitant to go back. The night was chilly and gusty and she was shivering, but anything was better than waiting like boars at the slaughter. Kiora rubbed her arms absentmindedly, deep in thought. Should she make a break for it? Run away, leaving the island for ever. She would need a ride. Swiftwing would be perfect. The only thing holding Kiora back was Beathen. She couldn't leave him to deal with her mistakes. It wouldn't be fair.

 _Snap._

Kiora whipped her head around, suddenly alert. Everything was quiet. . . And then another branch broke somewhere close. Murmurs. Someone was coming. Kiora leapt to her feet. Ignoring her pained body, she scrambled up a tree. Kiora tried to be as silent as possible. The hunters could not find her. If they did, she would be killed for sure. Maybe even without questioning. Kiora's foot slipped.

 _Snap._

She had tried steadying herself on another branch, but it had not held her weight. Emitting a small cry, Kiora grabbed for another branch with her arms. Her hands wrapped around a sturdy limb. She steadied herself. Kiora let out a sigh of relief. She had almost fallen to her death.

"What was that?''

Kiora froze. She had momentarily forgotten about her predicament. If the hunters had not heard her climbing the tree then they had certainly heard the branch snap and fall. But the voice. . . It sounded vaguely familiar. Like a dream or a dream of a dream. . .

"I dunno. We should check it out. Come on.'' Another voice. A woman.

Kiora stiffened and felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. She new that voice. She knew it well. Tears popped into Kiora's eyes.

Light footsteps get closer. Kiora peered through the tree, trying to get a better glance at the two people who had come into view. A man and a woman. They were both tall and thin. The man had auburn wind-swept hair and the woman had long blonde hair. Kiora had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out. They had come for her. After all these weeks, they had finally made it to Yahata. How they had found it, Kiora had no clue. But she had a decision to make. Should she reveal herself? She did not have much of a choice, did she? Slowly, Kiora climbed down the tree, being as quiet as possible. Her parents had still not noticed her. She dropped down lightly behind them. They continued walking away. Kiora wrung her hands nervously. It was now or never.

"Hey,'' she called, her voice cracking terribly.

Hiccup and Astrid whirled around, weapons drawn.

"Hey, hey.'' Kiora held her hands up to show she was unarmed. She was trembling rather violently.

"Show yourself!'' Hiccup snapped. Kiora was taken aback for a moment. Then she realized her parents couldn't see her in the dark. They had no torch. Kiora was too far away from them for any recognition to take place. She took a deep breath. Guilt threatened to crush her.

"He said show yourself!" Astrid's tone was vicious.

Scared to wait any longer, Kiora stepped forward. Her mother recognized her a second before her father. Astrid dropped her battle-axe, both hands flying to her mouth. Hiccup lowered his Dragon Blade slowly. His gaze was hard-set and his eyes cold. Gods, how was Kiora ever going to explain to him what had happened to Toothless?

"Hey Mom, Dad.'' Kiora's voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. She stood up straight and blinked back tears, struggling to keep her voice even. "I am. . . really sorry. I know that isn't enough and you are absolutely furious—as you should be. But I screwed up, and I know that now. I never should have left home. I swear to all the gods I'll never do it again. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought that maybe, if I was good enough, if I found the Night Furies, people would respect me and maybe, I dunno, listen. For once.'' Kiora's voice was choked with emotion but she carried on. "But I was wrong. I didn't help anyone. I. . . I only made things worse. I was selfish and only had my own best-interest in mind. I regret it dearly. I regret everything from leaving Berk to causing you to search for me. I was stupid. And others have payed for my mistakes." She averted her eyes, not daring look at her father. "Thank you for finding me,'' she whispered. "I'm so sorry.''

Kiora raised her hand to brush away the tears, but Astrid got there first. She had her only child swept up in a warm embrace within seconds. Kiora could hold the tears back no longer. She cried freely onto her mother's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,'' Kiora sobbed over and over.

"Shh, it's okay,'' Astrid soothed her, stroking her hair.

After another minute or so, Kiora pulled reluctantly away. Hiccup was standing by, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. "Dad, I'm really sorry. Honest. I know I'm a terrible person. Please don't be ashamed. I want you to be proud of me.''

Hiccup sighed and dropped his hands. "Are you hurt?''

Kiora shook her head.

Hiccup gave her a disappointed, but loving just the same, smile. "Come here.''

Kiora threw her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder, not wanting him to see her tears.

"I am proud of you, Kiora,'' Hiccup told her softly. "Your mother and I are both extremely proud—but we're proud of who you are, not who you try to be. The Kiora I know and love is not the one who ran away. It's the one that is kind and brave and funny. You've made a lot of mistakes. But we'll never stop loving you.''

"So you're not mad?'' Her voice was muffled by his shoulder.

"I was. But now I'm just so glad to have you back that I don't care. You've learned your lesson, I think.'' He suddenly gave her a cocky smile. "And I can't help being a little proud that you've survived alone all this time.''

Kiora wiped her eyes. She was so relieved he wasn't mad. She took another big breath. "But I wasn't alone.''

"True.'' Hiccup cocked his head. "Kiora, where's Toothless.''

Kiora swallowed hard, trying to keep her expression neutral. "Why do you ask?''

Astrid shot her a confused glance. Kiora's stomach twisted.

Hiccup held her gaze. "Kiora, where is my dragon?''

"I—" Kiora began, not quite sure of what she was about to say.

"Get down!'' Astrid suddenly whisper-yelled.

The family dove behind the tree Kiora had hid in.

The sound of footsteps once again filled Kiora's ears. But this time it was only one person.

"Kiora?"

Kiora relaxed. "It's okay" she mouthed to her quizzical parents. She stood up and walked away from the tree.

"Kiora, there you are!'' Beathen hugged her tightly. "I've been looking everywhere. Why'd you leave the cave?''

Surprised by his act of sudden affection, Kiora pulled away quickly. "I'm fine,'' she told him.

"Yeah, but why—?'' He expression suddenly changed to one of alarm. "Kiora, hide, quick!''

Hiccup and Astrid had emerged from behind the tree.

"It's okay, Bea,'' she assured him. "These are my parents.''

"Your. . . parents.'' The words didn't seem to sit right with the boy.

"Yeah, my parents. You know, my mom and dad? Here, I'll introduce you.'' Kiora quickly introduced Astrid and Hiccup to Bea. Astrid patted his arm warmly, but Hiccup just gave a curt nod.

"I'm Beathen,'' muttered Bea.

Hiccup's eyebrows shot up. " _Heathen?_ "

 _"_ No, _Beathen,_ '' he repeated.

"Beathen.''

"Yeah,'' shifted awkwardly. "It means life.''

"Indeed,'' Hiccup murmured skeptically.

"He's my friend,'' said Kiora, somewhat defensively.

Astrid nodded enthusiastically. Hiccup was unamused. "So, Kiora. Toothless.''

"Right. Uh, Dad—"

"That's why I was looking for you,'' said Bea, as if he had suddenly remembered something important. "I found him!''

"Found who?'' Hiccup demanded sharply.

 _He knows._ Kiora was too terrified to speak. Bea "found" Toothless? What did he find, a dead body? _Oh gods, please let it not be a dead body, please, grandfather, anything but that._ She did not know what she would do if she had to show Hiccup to the lifeless body of his best friend. It was cruel. And Hiccup had already caught on to the fact that something was amiss with Toothless.

Bea ignored Hiccup. "He's alive, Kiora. Scarlip has him. I spied on their camp. He's in a cage and he's hurt, but not dead yet.''

Kiora felt like a huge bubble of stress had popped inside of her. _Not dead!_

Hiccup paled. Astrid took his hand. "Kiora. . . you aren't talking about Toothless?''

Kiora sighed. "Come on. It's not safe here. We should get back to the cave. I'll explain everything.''

 **Happy American Thanksgiving! If you aren't American, Happy Random Thursday!**


	12. Chapter 12

**THE FINAL TRAILER FOR THE HIDDEN WORLD IS OUT! Not sure whether to cry now or wait until I see the actual movie. . .**

* * *

Hiccup paced back and forth, his long arms crossed over his chest. Astrid stared blankly ahead. Bea sat awkwardly on the ground, pulling up grass absentmindedly. Kiora surveyed her friend and family miserably. They were all here stuck in this awful predicament because of her. True, Bea would have had no hope for a life away from the hunters without her, but was that really worth losing Toothless forever? It was, Kiora told herself, because they hadn't lost Toothless forever. Not yet. But the way her parents were regarding the situation, it would seem like the battle that was yet to begin had already been lost. Kiora's world was silent again. And she could not stand it.

"Please say something, anything!'' She finally begged.

Hiccup stopped pacing and dropped down beside Astrid, who automatically wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Hiccup rubbed his temples, distraught. "What do you want me to say, Kiora?''

Kiora bit hard on her lip. She was not sure. "Anything,'' she whimpered.

"Kiora, your father is. . . in shock,'' Astrid said hesitantly. "Give him a moment.''

"I don't need a moment,'' Hiccup said. "I've had long enough to think things over.''

Kiora couldn't help but agreeing. After sharing all the details of the last couple days, her dad had silently paced for at least half an hour.

She scooted closer to her parents. "So. . . ?''

Hiccup leaned forward so that their faces were almost touching. "So this is all your fault. You messed up, big time. And now you're going to fix it.'' Kiora was too shocked to even respond when Hiccup turned to Bea. "Do you know where this Scarlip is camped?''

Bea was almost as surprised as Kiora by being directly addressed by Hiccup. "Uh, yeah. I know the entire camp well, actually.''

Hiccup narrowed his green eyes. "Do you? How come?''

Kiora was ready to make an excuse, but it was not necessary. Beathan was braver than she. He was not afraid of the truth. "I'm a dragon hunter. I was raised by them. I've never harmed a dragon though.''

Hiccup sat back. "Why not?''

"Pardon?''

"Why have you never hurt a dragon? I imagine you were raised to hate them with a vicious bloodlust?''

"Yes,'' Bea said slowly. "I was. But when the time came, I couldn't kill a dragon.''

"You saw yourself in them?''

Bea nodded.

Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand.''

"Do you though?'' The boy asked doubtfully.

Hiccup smiled ruefully. "Trust me, lad. Now, do me a favor and find the exact location of my Night Fury.''

Bea agreed and got to his feet, but Hiccup held him back. "When this is all over, I look forward to meeting the other Night Furies. From what I've heard, you're a very talented dragon trainer.''

Beathen grinned and jogged off.

Kiora watched him go. _Well that was easier than I expected_. She had not had to do anything to convince her dad of Bea's innocence. That was appreciated. But. . . "Dad?''

"Yes, Kiora?'' Hiccup and Astrid were both getting to their feet now.

"What's going on?''

Hiccup sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "We're going to rescue Toothless and get all the dragons off the island.''

"But what about me?'' Kiora was desperate to help in any way possible, but she was also scared. What if Toothless didn't make it? What if someone got hurt while rescuing him? Or worse?

"You're going to be the one to get Toothless out of that cage. This is all your fault, remember?''

"How could I forget?'' Kiora murmured faintly.

Astrid's brow furrowed. "Hiccup—"

But Hiccup waved her off. He crouched in front of Kiora and took her hands in his own. "I know you never meant for any of this to happen. When you left Berk, you were just being a headstrong teenager. It was wrong, yes, but you never meant for it to get this far out of hand. But it did. All's not lost, Kiora. We can still fix this and, believe me, we will. So pick up your ass and finish what you've started. Let's reunite Toothless with the Night Furies.''

Hiccup pulled Kiora to her feet and brushed away her tears. She was not ashamed of her tears, though she may have been just a couple weeks ago. She took several shuddering breaths. Her mom hugged her gently. "You can do this,'' Astrid whispered softly in her ear. Kiora hoped to all the gods she was right. Because if she was wrong, Kiora was screwed for good.

Bea returned promptly, and reported having good fortune: he had acquired Toothless' whereabouts. He said that the dragon's injuries were minor and should heal well. He would also be able to fly which was vital to the plan.

Hiccup nodded, looking pleased. "Dawn is only a couple hours away, and I believe that's the best time to do it. Let's all get some sleep.''

Out of the corner of her eye, Kiora saw Bea move to lay beside her. Hiccup coughed loudly. Bea retreated quickly to several yards away. Kiora was disappointed. A fire was too risky, so Kiora shivered. She wished she had Bea's warmth at her side. But that would be stretching Hiccup's boundaries a little too far. So she blocked all thoughts and feelings and let sleep take her.

* * *

Colby knocked lightly on the hut's door. He bounced nervously. A gruff bark invited him in. Colby slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind him. "M-master?''

"This better be good.''

"Did I wake you?'' Colby asked anxiously.

Scarlip's eyes narrowed blearily. "Obviously.''

"I'm sorry, sir, master, sir, but it's about Beathan—"

"What about him?!'' Scarlip roared, making Colby blanch.

"U-u-mm, he, well, you see master, he was with that girl, and, and, and. . ."

Scarlip thrust his ugly face so close to his hunter's that Colby could feel his hot stinking breath on his face. "And what?"

"Well, it's more of a who.''

"WHO THEN?!'' Scarlip bellowed.

Colby was shaking but finally blurted, "Hiccup Haddock, Chief of Berk!''

Scarlip drew quickly back. "Are you sure?'' he hissed.

"No. . . But my men have spotted a party of four approaching from the east cliff. They appear to be attempting a rescue for the Night Fury.''

Scarlip's face screwed into that nasty smile again. "So it is Haddock's dragon. The broken tail was dead giveaway. Beathan, that bratty girl, Hiccup, and the other? Hmm. Must be Hiccup's scrawny bride. I've always hated Berkians. . . Colby!''

"Yessir!" Colby squeaked.

"Ready your men.''

"Shall I send them to the east cliff?''

"No. Too easy. We must make this a bitter end for the Lord of the Dragons.''

* * *

Far off on the east cliff, with the first drops of morning light touching the sky, Kiora thought she heard the sound of maniacal laughter carry on the wind.

* * *

 **Sorry this was a bit scattered lol. I was listening to One Direction while writing XD**

 **Please review! This story is coming to a close. Only 2-3 chapters left!**


	13. Author's Note: Where I've Been

**Hey y'all. Guess what? I'm not dead. I** **know, I know. I've been gone for like eight months. I ditched out right before the freaking climax. Who does that?! Me, apparently.** **Last update was right before Christmas and I really thought I was going to be able to finish the story before The Hidden World came out in March. Alas, here we are in July.** **You guys deserve an explanation for my random disappearance, so here it is:**

 **\- The start of this year (2019) freaking sucked for me. I had a bunch of crappy mental-health issues and lost all motivation.**

 **\- As many of you may recall, I do musical theatre, which is super time-consuming. I did another production starting in November and running through March. The decision to do said production was made on a whim, and it was a decision I deeply regretted by January. I didn't have time to balance school, theatre, and the continuation of this story.**

 **\- School last year (2018-2019) was a nightmare. I started a completely new program for high-school and it took a lot of getting used to. I had an obscene amount of homework, most of which was writing, yippee.**

 **\- When I came to the conclusion I wouldn't be finishing this story in time for The Hidden World's release, I "decided" I would finish it soon after. Again, didn't happen. Because, quite frankly, I hated The Hidden World. How to Train Your Dragon is incredibly special to me and has played a large part in my childhood. I was so hyped for THW and it looked so good, that the problem was most likely my expectations were miles too high. I was severely let down by the movie as a whole (it was boring, repetitive, anti-climatic, not funny, etc.) Naturally, my disappointment lead to an even more extreme lack of motivation. I just didn't care as much any more.**

 **\- Both my grandpas, an extremely close family friend, and one of my best friends were all dying of cancer at the same time. Safe to say, I was an emotional wreck. My grandpas (one had an aggressive form of thyroid and one had colon)** **were able to pull through with surgeries, and my friend (leukemia) is currently in remission. Uncle Mike, who has been my dad's best friend for 20 years and I've grown up with him around, died at the age of 53 from lung cancer. My family's healing process was exhausting and just took a long time. I also had terrible stress/anxiety about everyone else I was close to dying because it seemed like such a reality.**

 **\- I was stupidly working on three other stories. I had to drop one. This one was the best option as it had the least following = least pressure to finish it. I never meant for it to go so long without an update though. Sorry:/**

 **I promised myself I would finish this spring, but I didn't (big surprise), so then I said I would in early summer. But I really did need the break. From school, theatre, writing. I like those three things - love the last two! - but I needed to get away so badly. That time is now over, and I'm excited to finish this story once and for all! If you are still here after all this time, then I hope you know I am sincerely grateful for your patience and endurance.**

 **Fury of the Night will be concluding in three chapters. Bare with me, and see the end is in sight.**


	14. Chapter 13

Back on the East Cliff, the morning sun was just rising above the sea, setting the water on fire in a blinding haze. Kiora blinked hard, trying to stay focused. She was tired, not having gained the amount of sleep she had wished for the previous night, but ready all the same. At this point she just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

To her right, Hiccup was crouched. A soft breeze blew his auburn hair into his eyes, but he didn't flinch. He was ready. And, Kiora thought with a sinking heart, he was scared. Hiccup wasn't often afraid. Kiora barely ever saw him in the state of fear. The fact that he was now dashed his daughter's confidence significantly. He was afraid of what was to come as well as probably a little miffed at Kiora. Hiccup had told her earlier he wasn't mad, but Kiora knew he was exaggerating. He wasn't _furious_ like she assumed he would be, but he was far from unruffled by her exploits of his dragon.

 _I'm sorry Toothless,_ Kiora mentally reached out for the hundredth time. _And I'm really sorry, Dad._ She felt like she ought to apologize verbally again. It wouldn't do much good except maybe put her mind more at ease and pass the time. She glanced a little ways ahead where Astrid and Bea were silently making there way across the the cliff's point to the top. It wouldn't be long before Kiora and Hiccup would have to do the same. She sighed inwardly. It was now or never.

"Hey, Dad?''

"Yes, Kiora?'' Hiccup kept his gaze fixed on the horizon.

"I'm . . .'' she searched for the right words. ". . . sorry.''

"I gathered that much.''

"When I left Berk,'' Kiora began, her voice shaky but determined, "I-I left because I wanted to prove to you I was brave and . . . _worth something . . ._ like you and Mom. That was why I wanted to find the Night Furies. It wasn't because I wanted to help Toothless — it never was. I was only thinking of myself and my own goals. I disregarded you, and Mom, and Valka because I thought I knew better. I thought I knew my own strength. Turns out I was wrong. Not only about you guys . . . but about me too. I'm not brave. And I wasn't ready for this.'' Tears splashed onto the hard rock. "I'm so, so sorry.''

Hiccup looked at her. His green eyes shown with emotion and understanding. A sad smile upturned his mouth. "I know, Kiora.''

She quickly wiped her face on her shoulder in effort to hide her tears. She felt Hiccup gently lift her chin. Kiora hesitantly lifted her gaze so her eyes met her father's. "Sometimes,'' said Hiccup, "more damage is caused trying to help rather than if you were to just leave things as they were. I've accidentally screwed up many things by trying to improve them.''

"But I wasn't trying to help anyone but myself—"

"True,'' Hiccup agreed. "But you did not mean to hurt anyone either. You meant no harm. Perhaps if Astrid and I had made a larger effort to understand, to _listen,_ then none of this would have happened. My point is, we cannot change the past. If I could go back and fix all my mistakes, I would. But I can't. And neither can you. We can only learn from those mistakes and use our failure to propel us forwards. You got us into this mess. You created this problem. Are you ready to fix it?''

Kiora swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm ready.''

"I know, Kiora,'' whispered Hiccup, "I know. And I forgive you.''

Leaning carefully forward as to not fall from their precarious position, Hiccup gathered his daughter in a warm embrace. After a moment, she drew back. "I love you, Dad.''

"I love you too, Kiora.''

"Now,'' Kiora brushed away the rest of her tears and straightened resolutely, "let's go do something stupid.''

Hiccup smiled. "That's my girl.''

Having reconciled with her father, Kiora felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A new hope had sparked inside her. Hiccup was right. She had messed up, but she was going to fix it. Along with the help of her parents and Bea, she was going to fix everything.

"Alright,'' Bea called. "Your turn." And Astrid had reached the top of the cliff. They were leaning over.

"Careful!" Astrid warned.

Hiccup threw her an easy glance. "Don't worry, we got this."

Kiora started pulling herself up with her arms and stabilizing herself with her feet planted firmly against the hard rock. She would have appreciated help from, say, a dragon, because the progress was painfully slow. Hiccup reached the top about a minute before she did. Even with one leg he was more athletic that she, Kiora thought a little bitterly. As soon as she was in arms-length of them, Hiccup and Beathan pulled her the rest of the way up. Astrid hugged her quickly.

"Now what?'' Hiccup turned to Bea.

"Now we sneak into camp and free Toothless.''

Hiccup blinked. "Easier said than done, kid. How do we get into this camp of yours?"

"Without being seen, if possible.''

Kiora elbowed him hard.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood!"

Three pairs of annoyed eyes stared back at the boy.

"Gods, fine. Tough crowd.'' Bea dropped to a crouch and began a crude drawing of Scarlip's camp in the dirt. "The camp has four entrances. North, South, East, and West.'' He pointed to a spot with a stick. "This is the East entrance. The easiest way to it is through a marked trail in the forest, but the East cliff takes you almost directly to the door. That's where we are now.''

Hiccup nodded in approval. "So far, so good. How do we get through the entrance guards, assuming there are some, like always?''

The twinkle in Bea's eyes made Kiora suppress a smile. "We don't.''

Before either of her parents good kill Bea on the spot, Kiora broke in. "Just tell us how to get in. Please.''

"We're just outside the forest right now. We go in, we come across the entrance — and the guards — very soon. Which is why we came up the cliff. We're not using the entrance. There's a gap. That's our way in.''

"'A gap'?" Astrid asked impatiently. "Could you be anymore vague? _Where is it and how exactly do we get in the damn camp?!"_

"Mom, calm down, please,'' Kiora blurted out quickly. Taking a deep breath, she tried taking over control of the situation. "Bea, we don't have all day. We need to hurry. Please just . . . just get to the point.''

Bea winked a blue eye at her. "Okay, for real this time: there is a gap in ? Fortress wall. It's located between here and the East entrance. I'm the only one who knows about the gap, I think. It won't be guarded and we'll be able to easily slip into camp.''

Kiora shot him a grateful glance.

Hiccup nodded. "Then what?''

"Then we find your dragon — I know exactly where they're keeping him, leave that up to me — release him, and get out of here. Scarlip will never even know we were here!"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that,'' said Hiccup cautiously.

"Aren't you Mr Optimistic,'' muttered Bea. He started moving towards the forest. Kiora jogged up beside him, her parents following closely. Kiora wanted to say something to Bea, but wasn't sure what would be the right thing. So she just muttered a simple "thanks" with a shy smile. Bea said nothing, his eyes remained on the path he was forging, but Kiora felt him lace his fingers with hers.

Beathan was true to his words. They'd only gone a couple yards diagonally before coming to a stop. There was a fortress wall just like Bea had said. And there was a gap. Just like Bea had said.

The gap wasn't very big. Some of the stone had eroded and crumbled away, forming a whole a few feet squared. Bea slithered through it first. Kiora and Hiccup both had to push him through a bit to make him fit. Astrid went next, fitting more easily than Bea. Hiccup then went, leaving only Kiora on the outside of the well-protected camp.

"Come on, Kiora!" She heard Bea call.

Reluctantly, Kiora stuck her arms, head and torso through the gap. Bea gently pulled her through. She stumbled a bit at first, off-balance. Then she straightened and looked around. They were in the hunters' camp all right. The early morning sun illuminated the two dozen or so tents lined up nearby. There was a large rack filled with weapons and other dangerous sharp things. A little ways to the left of the weaponry was a fire-pit, still smoking from the previous night's blaze. Kiora scanned the area once more before turning to Bea. "I don't see Toothless.''

"Well Scarlip wouldn't exactly put his most prized specimen out for show, now would he?''

"How many 'specimans' does he have?'' Hiccup asked warily. Kiora knew that look; if there were other dragons than just Toothless in Scarlip's grasp, Hiccup would not leave until every single one was free. Kiora didn't think they had that kind of time.

Luckily, Bea shook his head. "It'll be just Toothless. Scarlip doesn't usually—"

Kiora kicked him. Bea fell silent. Kiora knew Bea was going to say that Scarlip did not usually keep the dragons he caught alive. He had a cage just in case there was a dragon he wanted to study before slaughtering it. In Toothless case, Scarlip was most likely studying him to help him find the rest of the Night Furies. But Toothless didn't have long. They needed to hurry.

"Let's go,'' she murmured.

Bea lead them around the perimeter. The camp was starting to awaken. They heard men rustling around in their tents. Shifts would be rotating soon. Time was running out.

"It's just around here—"

 _"_ _Toothless!"_ Hiccup raced to the cage as quickly as his one-and-a-half legs could carry him. Toothless was curled up melancholically on the cage floor, but as soon as he herd his Rider's voice, he immediately perked up. Upon seeing Hiccup's face, if dragons could cry, Toothless would have. Hiccup nearly did. "Hey, bud,'' he murmured. His hand was reached out stroking his dragon's head through the metal bars of the cage. "We're going to get you out of here.''

Tearing her eyes away from the joyful reunion, Kiora turned to Bea and Astrid. "How _are_ we going to get him out?"

"You kids are honestly the worst planners I've ever met, and I say that with love,'' sighed Astrid. "For future reference, always think through _every detail_ of the plan before launching into a dangerous rescue mission or anything of the sort.'' She flounced over to help Hiccup with the lock. It was dragon-proof, but not Berkian-proof. Hiccup and Astrid had it quickly undone.

As soon as he was free, Toothless bounded over to Hiccup. Hiccup wrapped his arms around his neck and held him tightly. After giving them a moment, Kiora stepped hesitantly over. She stood awkwardly before her dad and his best friend — neither of whom were aware of her presence — trying to decide what to say. "Is he, um, okay?'' She finally managed.

Hiccup checked him quickly over. "He doesn't appear to have any serious injuries. I think he's okay.''

Toothless blinked in greeting to Kiora. She touched his forehead."I'm really, really sorry Toothless. I swear I'll never do anything so stupid ever again.'' She felt tears brimming again. She didn't try to fight them. "You could have been killed by those retched hunters, and it would have been all my fault.''

"Hey,'' said Astrid, laying a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "it's okay, Kiora. Nothing happened.''

"But it could—"

"Don't focus on what could have happened. Focus on what did happen. We found you, we got Toothless back. I consider ourselves pretty lucky. You did a good job on trying to fix his tail,'' Hiccup nodded to the area, "it should last until we get back to Berk.''

"I hate to break up the dramatic family stuff, honestly I do, but we should really be getting going,'' Bea broke in, blush tinting his cheeks.

"Right,'' said Hiccup. "Toothless can probably carry us all out of camp, but after that—"

"Mom has Stormfly, and Bea and I have Giselle and Swiftwing who are . . . you know what, we'll just have to introduce you.''

"Can we please go?" The agitation in Bea's voice put Kiora on edge. They were so close to leaving this whole — ordeal in the past, but they weren't there yet. They still had to actually leave the island. So much could go wrong in that time.

Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' bare back and slid as far up as he could so that he was almost sitting on the small dragon's shoulders. It was going to be a tight squeeze fitting everyone. Astrid slid behind her husband, wrapping her thin arms securely around his waist.

Bea motioned for Kiora to go next. "I don't really want to feel down your mom, you know?''

Kiora rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help the staccato bursts of affection in her chest. Trust Beathan to lighten the mood.

"I don't want you feeling my daughter down either, young man.''

Kiora snorted this time.

Bea held his hands up, feigning innocence. "I would never.''

 _Lier,_ thought Kiora as Bea clambered up behind her. His arms snaked around her waist and the urge to squirm was suddenly great. But Kiora resisted. They had already stocked Toothless to the max and moving around would probably cause Bea to slip off the end, which he was already dangerously close to doing.

"Alright, come on, Buddy,'' Hiccup urged Toothless gently.

The small black dragon bounded forward twice before spreading his wings and taking flight. Kiora resisted the urge to shriek as she was jostled between Astrid and Beathan. Toothless' wings were beating twice as laboriously as usual. He was panting soon after becoming airborne. Kiora knew the old dragon couldn't go on very long like this.

Something suddenly streaked by her ear. She jerked her body in the opposite direction in surprise. She glanced back. Her heart plummeted. "Dad!" She yelled. "Dad, they're here!" Kiora heard Hiccup curse as another arrow sailed past. Kiora looked back at the line of hunters firing arrows. They hadn't gone very far yet, the hunters had fairly easy shots to make. Kiora silently thanked Thor they were all such a terrible shot.

And then it all happened very fast. Kiora's glimmer of hope that the hunters wouldn't be able to hit their dragon was shattered. Toothless let out a shriek of pain as an arrow pierced straight through his left wing. It was happening again. They were falling. In the few seconds she had before they hit the treetops, she remembered what had saved her last time. She struggled to push herself off and away from Toothless.

The dense trees broke her fall pretty well. Kiora felt the leaves and fragile twigs on outreached branches brush her skin, the stiffer ones cutting her, and snapping beneath her weight. She felt herself slowing down and then she was free-falling again. The air was knocked out of Kiora when she hit the forest floor. She landed on her frontside, her elbows and forearms taking the brunt. Electric pain shot through them, but it passed quickly. Drawing shaky deep breaths, Kiora stumbled to her feet. She was greatly relieved to find her parents and Bea had the same sense to bail before crashing through the trees. Bea was the closest to her and had not gotten up yet. Astrid was standing a little way from Hiccup, who was the furthest from her. He was already crouched beside Toothless, who was struggling to get up. His left wing was had an arrow sticking through it.

Kiora moved to help Bea. Her body ached, but she considered herself lucky to be alive so she didn't complain. Bea was on his hands and knees and he smiled at Kiora when she came up to him. "That was rather disastrous, wasn't it?" She rolled her eyes. Gripping his wrists she pulled him to his feet. He stumbled, slightly off-balance, and winced.

"Are you okay?" Kiora asked anxiously.

"Yeah,'' said Bea with a forced laugh. "I'm good. You?''

"Just a little winded.''

Bea nodded distractedly, catching sight of Toothless. He frowned deeply. He began limping towards them. Kiora caught his hand. "I thought you said you weren't hurt?'' she demanded crossly.

"It's just a sprain, _I'm fine._ ''

"Not for long, you're not.''

Kiora whirled around. Scarlip, flanked by several angry hunters, had come.


	15. Chapter 14

Kiora's eyes darted around furiously. There was nowhere to run. Even if there had been, she wouldn't have, she realized. Bea's injured ankle would permit him from getting very far. Toothless was down and Hiccup leaving him was beyond question. And Astrid would never leave her husband's side. Kiora herself would never leave any of these people. So they were momentarily grounded, trapped.

Scarlip advanced slowly forward. Kiora automatically took a step closer to Bea. She felt his steady hand on the small of her back. It made her feel braver, as if Bea was transmitting his strength to her through his hand upon her. Kiora longed to take his other hand, but it was out of her line of sight and she didn't trust her eyes leaving Scarlip.

Scarlip was coming slowly towards her. She wondered why he had singled her out specifically. Not Bea, not Hiccup. Her. Scarlip stopped so close to her she was afraid what his next move would be. But he just stared at her, eyes slitted, blond hair brushing her cheek. His breath wreaked across her face. It was all Kiora could do to keep from wrinkling her nose at the stench.

"Well, well, well.'' Scarlip's hideously marred mouth spread wide in an intimidating grin. A shiver ran down Kiora's span. Scarlip extended a hand out to touch Kiora's temple.

"Don't touch her!" Bea cried, lunging forward, pushing Scarlip away from her. He stood tall in front of his old ?! master. Kiora was mildly surprised Bea was only a couple inches shorter than Scarlip.

Scarlip crossed his arms, a bored look crossing his face. "You again.'' He sighed heavily. "Beathan, my boy, what are you doing hanging around these Berkians? Don't you have _better_ things to do?"

"Like what, killing dragons?'' Bea's voice was flat.

"I saved your life. I gave you a home. You're in my debt.'' Scarlip's tone carried the same disinterest. Kiora knew he had never actually cared for Bea. It had all been about having more men on the hunt. More hands for the dirty work.

"This was never my home. And I've served your as a hunter for _years!_ My debt has been payed. I'm free, and I'm leaving.''

"You're leaving?" Now Scarlip seemed slightly interested. "How? All the dragons will be dead, as will your new friends here.'' He gestured to Kiora and her parents.

Kiora saw Bea's eyes narrow, drawing his face back into a dangerous expression. The men behind Scarlip shifted impatiently. If someone didn't do something quickly, someone was going to be killed. Kiora stole a glance to her parents. Hiccup had already removed the arrow from Toothless' wing; it lay broken a little ways from where he stood. Kiora knew there wasn't much else they could do at the moment. Hiccup and Astrid had obviously realized this too. They stood a couple steps away from the dragon, their faces wearing the familiar expressions Kiora had seen them bare all her life. Her parents were working on a way to solve this problem. Kiora herself had thought briefly about how they were going to get out of this one.

A noisy rustle sounded from the treetops above. Every head turned upwards. The thick branches blocked out the majority of the sky.

"What _was_ that?'' A hunter muttered. The others shook their heads.

Bea smiled. Suddenly, Giselle burst through trees! She dropped down beside Bea, causing everyone around them to stumble back. She slithered protectively around him, hissing, teeth bared.

Kiora felt a hand gripping her bicep, yanking her back. She was unsurprised to find it was her mother. Astrid pulled Kiora close to her and Hiccup.

"Is that a Night Fury?'' Hiccup asked, disbelieving.

"Light Fury,'' Kiora corrected him.

Scarlip and the hunters had all pulled out their weapons. They looked absolutely terrified. Kiora figured they had never been this close to a dragon before.

"Kill her!'' Scarlip screamed, but even his voice was edged with fear.

The hunters weakly attempted to stab her or something, but Giselle blocked them all. She spread her wings and took off. Kiora's heart skipped a beat as she realized Giselle had Scarlip clutched in her claws. He yelled, trying to wriggle out of her grip. Then she disappeared above. Through the meager gaps in the treetops, Kiora saw Giselle heading towards the East Cliff. A sick feeling creeping into her gut, Kiora turned away. Maybe Scarlip deserved to die, but she rather not witness it.

No one spoke for quite some time. Hiccup eventually crouched beside Toothless and stroked his snout, for his own comfort as much as his dragon's. Giselle eventually came back, pleased with herself for having deposited the dragon killer off a cliff. Bea buried his head in her graceful neck. Astrid never let go of Kiora. And the latter was fine with that. The hunters stood around awkwardly, leaderless and lost. Kiora expected Hiccup to snap back to reality and be the first to make a move towards them, but — to everyone's surprise — it was a hunter.

The aforementioned hunter stepped cautiously forward, dropping his weapon and raising his hands. "I-I-I'm not sure wh-what to say,'' he began stutteringly, addressing Hiccup. "I-I don't think this h-helps much, but most of us hu-hunters didn't w-w-want to do it, at least not recently. But young Beathan here was the only one to who was b-brave enough actually stop. I know w-we don't deserve it — I don't deserve it, but if you'll have us, w-we want to help you fi-fix this.''

"We'll do whatever you say!" Another hunter added. The others nodded vigorously.

Hiccup got up and went to meet the hunter who had first spoken. "What is you name?''

"It's C-colby, sir.''

Hiccup lay his hand on Colby's shoulder. "Thank you, Colby, for speaking up for yourself and your friends. I appreciate the gesture greatly. If you truly do wish to change, come back with us to Berk. It can be your home and you can spend the rest of your lives amending the damage you have done by assisting us with the dragons.''

Colby dipped his head in respect. "Thank you, sir, th-thank you.''

Hiccup smiled. "Call me Hiccup.''

Kiora would never cease to be amazed by her father's negotiation and people skills.

Bea limped over to Colby and embraced him. It was a sweet gesture and Kiora was annoyed at herself for being jealous of Colby. Kiora received a nudge from Astrid. She glanced over to see her mom smirking at her.

"What?'' Kiora demanded indignantly.

Astrid pulled a look of mock innocence. "Nothing! Nothing at all.''

The hunters returned to camp to begin packing and inform the others of Scarlip's death and their new freedom. Kiora overheard one of them discussing throwing a feast and she hoped that plan came into fruition; she was starving. But before she could rest or eat or do anything else, she had to show her parents the Furies' cave.

* * *

The walk from wherever the hell they were to the cave was almost three miles. _Thank Thor for dragons,_ Kiora thought happily as she clung to Bea's waist. Giselle bounded gracefully towards the cave, Kiora and Bea bumping lightly along on her back. A little ways behind them, Toothless carried Hiccup and Astrid. Before they left, Hiccup had bound the black dragon's wounded wing. Although the arrow had pierced it all the way through, it wasn't all that bad of an injury; it did not bleed much, he just wouldn't be able to fly for a couple days. But the forest was strangely scenic now that death wasn't a possibility and Kiora enjoyed riding a dragon any time, even if said dragon was not flying.

Kiora's heart skipped excitedly as Giselle came to a stop at the cave's entrance. She helped Bea down and headed into the cave, barely waiting for her parents. Kiora had learned the geography of the cave well. She was able to navigate her way to the dragons at a rate that alarmed Bea, who had been going there for much longer than she.

Swiftwing greeted Kiora with a happy trill and bumped against her. Kiora stumbled a bit at the impact, but was so relieved to see Swiftwing again she didn't care. She hugged her tightly around the neck, before introducing her to her parents.

Hiccup and Astrid were properly impressed by the white Night Fury. Hiccup, in particular, was fascinated by how "Light Furies" were white, instead of black like their male counterparts.

After that, things ran in a smoothed-over blur. The Furies were let out of the cave, free at last. That was Kiora's primary thought. It was derailed slightly by explaining to a very surprised Hiccup and Astrid that the egg that Swiftwing was guarding was Toothless'. "It happened. . . quickly,'' Kiora poorly explained. She had honestly forgotten about the egg in the upheaval of the last couple hours. Anyway, it was agreed that both Swiftwing and her egg would travel to Berk with them, as they were Toothless' family. Kiora was secretly glad of this; she didn't want to leave Swiftwing.

* * *

The feast was lovely. Other than roasted squirrel, there were a lot of dishes Kiora had never had before. They were composed of different kinds of plants she had never even heard of. Hiccup was wary at first and made Colby swear that none of the dishes contained dragon meat — a thought that made Kiora rather sick. But after the hunters reassured them that the had changed, meaning they had actually _changed,_ everything was well and merry.

After the feast, everyone gathered around a bonfire, talking and laughing late into the night. Kiora liked it well enough, but after some time she grabbed Bea and stole away to a more quiet, private area.

"You really don't have to do this,'' said Bea, as Kiora taped his ankle with strips of cloth.

"It'll heal faster this way,'' she insisted.

"As long as it isn't any trouble. . ."

Kiora smiled, not looking up from her work. "No worries. Everything's fine now, remember?''

"That'll take some getting used to,'' laughed Bea softly.

Kiora exhaled through her nose. "Yeah. The last weeks have been pretty crazy, huh?" She finished binding Bea's ankle. She looked up to see his brilliant eyes focused on her. Kiora felt like she should really say something. But nothing came to mind. "I'm glad we met,'' she finally managed, then cringed inwardly.

"Yeah. Me too.'' He smiled. He held her gaze for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed her. Bea got to his feet. "Thanks for this,'' he said lifting his taped ankle. He limped off back towards the bonfire.

Kiora stayed there awhile. She was not sure whether to laugh or cry. Her lips tingled. She touched them with a shaking hand. Then she laughed. And then she cried.

They remained at Yahata for two more weeks. The ex-hunters were taught to ride dragons (which took all of the two weeks). The camp was mostly disassembled and packed up. A small portion of permanent parts were left to become forgotten, ancient ruins. There was also some discussion about whether or not they should take _all_ the Night Furies back to Berk. Yahata was pretty far from Berk so it wasn't like they could go back and forth often. They eventually decided to only bring the ones they needed to transport the ex-hunters and the riders. Toothless and Bea healed. It was time to go.

And so Kiora found herself standing between Swiftwing (her egg wrapped carefully and placed under Astrid's care), and Bea. Most of the leaving dragons had already taken off, Toothless and Stormfly at the lead. Kiora and Bea had been told to stay at the back and keep an eye on things. Kiora was aware they needed to leave in a moment, but she let Bea take his time. He had grown up on the island. While they would return eventually, it would not be for some time. He finally turned back to her. "Well, I guess it's time to go to Berk.'''

Kiora slipped her hand into his. "It's time to home.''


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, y'all. This is it. Last chapter. This story has been such rollercoaster for me. I would like to personally thank every person for** **reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing this fic. Your support means everything to me. I hope you have enjoyed this story and are satisfied with the ending.**

 **All the love,**

 **Rosalie**

* * *

Come the next fortnight, it will have been one year since I returned to Berk from my misadventures on Yahata.

One year. I can hardly believe it. It feels like its only been a couple months. Everything has passed in such a blur. But things are slowing down now and I have time to right this memoir.

Berk is thriving. The ex-Hunters are now Riders and dragon enthusiasts. Upon first returning home, they were wary of the Berkians learning that they had previously made a living out of killing dragons. But Hiccup called a town meeting and explained to everyone _not_ to throw dangerously sharp things at the new Berkians. Gobber in particular was disappointed by this order, but followed it all the same. The new Riders are all happy, most of whom have settled down with families.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Valka have devoted a great deal of their time training and studying the new Furies. Hiccup and his gang (the usual Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut) returned to Yahata to fully explore and add it to the map. Beathan and I decided not to go. Our lives are here, in Berk.

Toothless and Giselle are officially mates now. Their egg hatched just two months ago (Furies incubation period is uncommonly long). Their baby is absolutely adorable! She was named Rania, a delightful little Light Fury! She has captured the heart of every Berkian.

Swiftwing has become my new dragon. I bonded with her much better than I ever did with Icebreath. Dad told me that while it was uncommon, it was not unheard of for a Rider to switch dragons. I made sure Icebreath had a new Rider before making the transition, of course. She is now with a young boy who adores her more than anything. She loves him too, more than she ever did me. I'm glad it all worked out. Swiftwing and I are the perfect pair, Mom says.

As for Bea and I? Well, we're living our best lives. Together. I'm not sure what we are. I like him and he likes me, but I'm still very young. As is he. We know we're not ready to take our relationship very far. Close friends or lovers, it doesn't really matter. As long as he's in my life, I'm happy.

And that's the end of my story. It ended better than I ever expected. I won't be doing anything drastic like running away to find the Night Furies ever again. I'm content with my life. I have my dragon, I have Bea, I have my parents, and I have my home. That's enough.

— Excerpt from "The Fury of the Night", a memoir by Kiora Astridsdaughter.

* * *

~ **_Fin ~_**


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